A Hero Taken
by Darke Eco Freak
Summary: A routine mission to Haven forest leaves the Hero dead. His friends are left to fend off attacks without their best soldier and the world's eco is ready to rip the planet apart planet. Yeah, real routine ain't it?
1. It was just routine

**I do not own Jak and Daxter, that's why I'm here wasting my time when I'm supposed to be doing something productive.**

**Kate: Oh please, it's not like you have any friends to spend time with.**

**DEF: I thought I locked you in the closet?**

_**_**_**Jak's POV**_**_**_

The dreams had gotten worse and sometimes I don't think they are dreams, they seemed so vivid but I'd wake up without blood on my hands, sometimes if I was lucky, the Light Eco _has _made it better but it's still bad. Even worse than my psychotic dreams were the increased pools of Dark Eco, sure I was glad that Kor and the Dark makers were dead but apparently they'd been using those pools to supply themselves with Eco and no way in Hell did I want them alive again. But the Eco fed my Dark side giving him even more power than he already possessed which scared me a little, that thing didn't need anymore power to kill and destroy, half the time I was fighting him so he didn't kill Daxter. I tried to keep a hold of my humanity but it was slowly slipping my fingers, they had told me that the Light Eco was supposed to help but they'd been wrong. It helped, of course it helped but it only helped me see what I really was, it pulled back a curtain allowing me to finally appreciate the monster I had become and the destruction I caused. I hated that so much, even worse was the fact I used to be glad to have it! So I avoided the Light, I hadn't come in contact with it for almost six months now but the price I had to pay was almost too much.

The Dark Eco made me feel drained, as if I was sleep walking, not really here while my body was left on autopilot, if they gave me a gun I killed, if put in zoomer I drove it to my destination. It was getting to be much worse than when I'd only been contaminated with Dark Eco by itself, now I knew that I was a monster before I'd only heard rumors and Daxter's watered down version of events. Not that anyone gave a damn anymore; all they cared about was that I completed my missions without killing all the bastards in this godforsaken city, who still treated me like shit. Daxter was the only one who actually bothered to talk to me, who cared enough to try to break through to me and sometimes it worked but more often I ignored him. He knew exactly how to calm me down, how to bring me back to the surface just as I was falling off the edge into the abyss of spiraling madness late at night when all the murders I'd committed came back to haunt me. When I saw those eyes staring up at me, accusing, hating, mocking me even in death, all those innocents I'd killed in mad search for revenge, all the blood I'd spilt. He was the only true friend I had left in this damn world, he was the only one who actually came with me to check out reports of Metal Heads in the Forrest. He was by far the bravest person I knew because he knew the monster I was and that I could turn on him but he still came with me, he was much braver than me.

"Jak, you okay, buddy? You seem kinda out of it today," he said jumping down in front of me. I vaguely realized that he had been talking to me for a while now but I had tuned out his babbling, too self-absorbed, as usual, and now he was waiting for an answer.

"Sure, I'm just a little tired," I replied trying to smile but probably came out like a grimace, I hadn't really smiled for almost four years now, strange I didn't really miss it but it was almost disturbing especially compared to how I'd been before all this crap. I looked at him now and saw a hint of worry in his eyes, he had always known when something was bothering me but lately I'd become harder for him to read, it was also possible he couldn't read me because I looked like the living dead.

"You've been having those nightmares again," he accused flatly, the fur on his back bristled with worry. He hadn't phrased it as a sentence but he deserved an answer, especially since he put most of _my_ crap without a word of complaint.

"Yeah, I was up all night and the five before it," I sighed wiping a hand on my face as if I could wipe away the horrors that plagued me. My feet dragged along the ground but I was alert for anything, at the slightest hint of danger I would attack, like some animal on the hunt.

"You shoulda' stayed home and got some sleep, Tattooed Wonder could get someone else to come out here," Daxter griped, I knew he was really worried about me then.

"Don't worry, Dax, you really think something could sneak me?" I asked as the doors hissed open smiling this time, well really the upturning of my lips at the corners but compared to before it was a smile.

_**_**_**Daxter's POV**_**_**_

I could tell he was really messed up; he had dark bags under his eyes, eyes that seemed to have sunk into his face, a face that didn't belong on an eighteen year old. He was half falling asleep on himself and his feet dragged along the burnt-looking grass but he was right, nothing could sneak up on us and even then he'd still find a way to save us if something did. Even if I believed that I still couldn't get rid out of this eerie foreboding that seemed to cling onto him, it felt like a knife being flicked in my heart and it hurt.

"Hey, Jak, how long do we have to stay out here?" I asked, I hated coming out here despite the fact that it was the closest we could ever get to our old home in Sand Over but if Jak needed me I'd be there with him even when no one else gave a damn about him.

"Just long enough to clear out any Metal Heads that might here," he rasped then twitched as if something was bothering him, that wasn't good it never was.

"Who exactly does Captain Laryngitis think he is? He always gives us the crappy missions and to think I started to believe he liked us," I complained, complaining was the best way to break through to him, through the hard shell he'd built up around himself.

"Jak, Daxter go check out the forest, go destroy the eco dump, clear out the sewers, well you know what? He can take his orders and shove 'em up his ass," I continued. I snuck a glance at the blonde haired hero. Everyone's hero really but most of all my best friend of all time ever since we were little kids back in Sand Over, my hero. He was the one who fought all the evils we'd faced on our adventures without one complaint, he was the one who'd been tortured, he was the one who was in pain, who'd been broken and who was I? I was the one who was always by his side, the one who complained, the one who'd speak for him when he couldn't do it for himself and right now I was the only one he could trust, the only one who could still see the boy from Sand Over in the broken man before me. Everyone still believed he was a soulless monster who loved to kill but they were so very wrong, he hated the fact that he killed sure he'd kill the Metal Heads but every time he killed the innocent it tore away a piece of his soul, his already broken and mutilated soul. Only a select few knew that he'd been gifted with Light Eco and even those who knew still didn't trust him as much as I did, no one could and then for some reason the knife in my heart was being twisted.

"And what about those guards? I thought they were sending some with us. What does he want his best soldier to," I broke off my complaints when I saw what lay if front of us. Jak had stopped and for good reason, hundreds Metal Heads were glaring at us from the trees, it looked as if the bastards were laughing at us too, damn we were in some deep shit.

"Die?" I thought finishing my broken protest.

_**_**_**Jak's POV**_**_**_

I heard Daxter's whining come to an abrupt halt when he spotted the Metal Heads, they sneered at us and I could hear their hissing laughter, they knew we were out numbered ten to one. I waited for the first attack which came a second later, their weapons were powered by Dark Eco so they couldn't really damage me but I tried like Hell not to get hit, I didn't want to change.

"Dax, call Torn and have him send in reinforcements," I spat killing five of the beasts in front me, I couldn't stay here with so much Dark Eco without changing.

"Will, do" I heard him say before I dodged another round of bullets, I prayed to God they'd come quick. I could feel little scrapes along my arms and legs, none were serious and the Eco in my blood was already healing them but as soon as they could heal more were made in their place. There were just too many of them and I was slipping, losing my hold on the edge of the abyss, within minutes they had already surrounded me and I was down to my last round of ammo. I started using the butt of the gun to kill them but they were too close and I felt razor sharp claws raking up and down my back. Then I lost my grip and fell, the small light that surrounded me was consumed by the bone chilling darkness. My control crumbled away as _he _took over, I doubled over in pain grabbing at my head as it exploded in agony, I couldn't see anything, I couldn't hear anything and I all could do was endure that horrible pain. I felt the change as it came, the pain but I loss my sense of self, like slipping into a coma, like dying and for the first time in a long while I didn't fight against it.

_**_**_**Daxter's POV**_**_**_

I saw all the Metal Heads surround us and how they slashed at Jak with their razor like claws, blood flowed like water and I knew it was only a matter of time before he snapped. Then it happened, he doubled over in pain and shot me a look that said as clear as day,_ "Get the Hell out of here"_, a look that you couldn't ignore. I leapt off his shoulder and scurried off into some bushes but I couldn't get far enough away to not hear those heart wrenching yells of agony. I heard his bones cracking and rearranging themselves and the sudden mind numbing fear that always accompanied his change. I'd heard and seen many frightening things in my life but none of them could ever overshadow the creature that stood in the place of my best friend. The pale white of his skin with the tinge of lilac reminded me of something dead but this creature was alive and would surely kill any and everything that got that got in its way, that's why I always hid myself from it. If it found me, Jak would usually have enough sense to leave me alone but why take that chance? Lightening leaped from his fingers scorching the grass and trees, not to mention the metal heads around him, melting their bones, boiling their blood. Hands that were tipped lethal 16" claws ripped through armor and bone like they were the thinnest paper. I heard the terrified roars of Metal Heads as they died but they couldn't drown out the horrible snarls that came from Jak, they sounded happy in a sickening way, a creature like that did not know true happiness only pain, anger and vengeance.

It made a mockery of joy, twisting it into sickening forms that would terrify even the most battle worn soldier of Spargus and it sure as Hell frightened me, just a little Ottsel cowering in bush. I peered out from behind the branches of the bush I was hiding in and saw him behead the closest thing he could reach then open its maw filled with dagger like teeth and laugh, cynical and cruel just like him, like the devil himself come to earth. Another one tried to attack him but he dodged it easily, killing it with one swift punch to the chest, his fist bursting through the creature's skin and bones to the other side. After that what followed was more of a massacre than anything else, bodies lay bleeding and broken their blood soaking into the earth and making it look as if the earth itself was bleeding, maybe it was. I watched from my bush as if paralyzed, I didn't even move when the dark lightening he created sparked inches away from me, best not to attract attention. It was all strangely beautiful in a horrible way but still terrifying the only thing that made it the least bit bearable was that I knew the Metalheads deserved to be killed if they survived, they'd kill everything in their path but even they didn't deserve to die like this.

I realized I had my eyes closed and opened them immediately, rule one when dealing with Jak when he was like this was never let him out of your sight . I saw him standing in the middle of the blood washed trees looking like the devil himself come to earth with his pale hair and skin like a corpse. I shuddered wondering what it would be like to have the last thing you saw were those eyes blacker than night so much like deep, dark pits that sucked at your soul before feeling the pain of claws and teeth ripping through you. I looked up again and saw that he had stacked all the bodies in a pile much taller than himself; it looked as if he was talking to them but then he kicked the nearest body into the river making its water run red. I sighed and turned my back to him, the only thing I could do now was wait it out, wait until he ran out of Eco then call Torn to tell him we were coming back into the city, I was used to it. Strange, no not strange, sick, how could I be used to these killing sprees of his? How could I justify any of this? It didn't matter that he hadn't asked for this, what mattered was what he was doing now that he had some power to resist but he was my best friend, that's why I was used to it. He was my best friend and I could forgive anything he did so no matter how horrible his actions, I was used to it.

"And that's just wrong," I whispered to myself, smiling a little.

"Just sick."

**_Jak's POV_**

I saw a small, cold, blue light in front of me and I knew if I just followed it I'd wake up but I didn't want to, it wasn't worth it, life wasn't worth it anymore.

"You don't have the guts, you're too weak otherwise you would've done it long ago," he sneered at me; I could see him laughing me, a cold laughter without joy but full disgust. Sometimes I feared him but other times I welcomed him, I gave him free reign to destroy those we both hated.

"You're wrong," I heard someone else whisper, they sounded so weak, "it's not weakness, it's love for someone besides myself." I jumped, that voice was me but how could it be, I didn't say anything, did I?

"Well, how's that working out for you? I don't see anyone besides the rat here, where are your supposed friends?" he asked in that voice like steel, just as hard and chilling. The light was getting brighter and I felt control coming back to me, he was too weak to keep this up much longer.

"They're safe because I'm here," I said grabbing the threads of light that appeared around my hands and letting them pull me to the surface but I could still hear him.

"Yes, but what if they turn on you, they did it before, you know they would, without a second thought" he rasped as he faded away into the darkness. I opened my eyes and shied away from the sight that met me, the smell was enough to make me want to vomit up my guts, the poor bastards nothing deserved to be killed like _that_.

"Dax, where are you?" I called, my throat hurt like I'd swallowed blades but I knew it was because of him.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked climbing back onto my shoulder, I realized he was shaking and I knew it was because of what I'd done.

"Yeah, at least no one got hurt, well no people at least," he said as I walked back to the entrance, I shrugged I wouldn't let him know how much it hurt to kill _anything_ in that ruthless way.

"Yeah, at least the guards didn't come," I commented although I knew he hadn't even called for help, last time he had, what was left of the guards could be carried home in a glass. I shook my head as if that could get rid of the memories; I'd promised myself long ago that I would never dwell on those things.

"Right, so how about a drink at the bar?" he asked, I noticed how he refused to look me in the eye.

"Sure, and Dax it's okay," I said, I wished he wouldn't look so relived, I could never get mad with him and if I did it never lasted long, he was my best friend after all.

"Thanks buddy, so what do tell Tattooed Wonder?" he asked, we always had to be careful with what we told them, of course they knew I had problems controlling myself but they didn't know how much trouble I had.

"We tell them that they need to do another sweep of the entire for-" my words were cut off by the searing pain down my back, then another through my heart.

"Shit, you forgot one," I thought, falling forward into the pool my blood had already made, my mind spiraling.

"Jak!" I heard Daxter yell then I heard a gun shot and something large falling to the ground beside me.

"Dax, go back to the city, you'll be safe there," I managed to choke out, strange how my voice sounded so strong when my heart felt like it was being ripped out and burned by Hell Fire at the same time.

"Hell no, I am not leaving you out here," he shouted, I felt him reach into my bag and pull out the communicator. I didn't hear him call for back up but then I remembered that the thing was broken, it was probably better this way. I fell again but this time I didn't lose control to him. It was different from falling into the abyss like slowly sinking to the bottom of a pool but still the same and I knew something was wrong because I could hear him laughing at me.

_**_**_**Daxter's POV**_**_**_

"Jak! Oh Precursors please tell me you're okay," I begged falling onto my knees, I couldn't believe it, this was all my fault I knew that after he changed he'd be out of it, I should've been watching for anymore of them.

"Torn, come in, Jak's been hurt, send in back up, help whatever the Hell you have to get him!" I shouted into the communicator but all I heard was static, the damn thing was broken.

"Shit, the firckin' thing runs on Eco for Precursor's! How could it break?" I yelled, but it must have happened a while now and Jak never carried it to be fixed. But I should've known he wouldn't care, he always thought it was better to do things by himself that way no one else would get hurt but he never once stopped to think about what could happen to himself, always did even before we came here. There was just so much blood and I had no way of knowing whether or not his heart had been pierced but at least I could stop the blood flow by using some green Eco. Good thing Old Green Stuff always kept crates of it in the forest.

"Damn, that's bad," I muttered as I drenched the wound with Eco, I thought I'd gotten used to having to patch up his broken body, from a few scrapes to bullet wounds but this was much worse, the hole in his chest had started turning purple and I swear I could hear a soft sizzling sound.

"Jak, come on I know you're tougher than this, you gotta pull through," I begged but I knew this wasn't something that anyone could recover from. A normal person would have died on the spot but Jak wasn't a normal person, he had Eco in his veins that would heal him or at the very least keep him alive until help came.

"Poison," he whispered. I was so stupid! I should have known there would be poison in the claws, Torn had warned us about something like that, at least that explained why his chest was turning purple _and_ blackening at the same time.

"It's all my fault, I should'a remembered to bring some anti-venom!" I thought cursing softly. I had to get help but I couldn't just leave him here, what if more of them came back? Who knew how these got here in the first place without anyone noticing them.

"Daxter, you have to go back to the city," he urged actually lifting his hand to push me towards the exit; it must have really hurt for him to do that because his face was suddenly scrunched up in pain.

"I know it hurts but I can't leave to get help because there might be more of them, they'd kill you for sure," I explained, wincing at the agony in his eyes. He stared at me and groaned but it wasn't one of pain, it was one I'd heard it many times before, he sounded fed up with me as if I didn't understand which I most definitely did not.

"Dax, you'll get killed if they come back, I'm probably already dead so just go," he rasped rolling his eyes. Did he mean for me to leave him here by himself where he'd probably die?

"No, Frickin' Way!" I shouted, making sure to look him in the eye.

"Get this through you thick skull, I'm. Not. Going. Anywhere." I looked down at his face and saw him staring at me again but this time with something more like gratitude and the barest hint of respect.

"I didn't leave you in prison, the wasteland_** and**_ I'm here now so just deal with it," I said in a huff sitting down next to his head, "I'll never leave you by yourself, not since what happened last time." We both knew I was referring to when we'd just landed in this place and I'd run off, when I'd found him again he'd become some kind of monster but he was still my best friend. It had never even crossed my mind to leave him in there, I thought we could find some way to change him back but I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I knew he could never be the same kid who'd lived I Sand Over even if we had been able to change him back so I just promised to never leave him again. I'd almost broken it when he got banished but I managed to tag along, as usual, the unwanted, forever complaining, story telling best friend.

"Thanks, Dax," he whispered, turning to me to give me the thing he called smile but I could see his eyes and I knew he really was glad I was there.

"No prob, besides you'll be fine when we get some Light Eco in you," I said, grinning at him but we both knew it wouldn't work. Well guy could hope, couldn't he?

**_Jak's POV_**

I stared at him, he knew that nothing could save me now but it wasn't in his nature to be pessimistic, that was me, the one who calculated everything and knew who would survive. I suppose I was like this when Damas died in my arms, in denial and wishing that everything my senses were telling me was wrong. I felt the poison burn my heart, creeping through my veins, infecting me, destroying me from the inside out and eventually killing me causing excruciating pain all the while. Strange, that's how the Dark Eco was supposed to kill me, how ironic but since the poison had been laced with Dark Eco and something else, I was sure to die.

"Dax, promise me on thing," I muttered moving until I could see him, trying to keep back the screams that were locked up inside me.

"Anything, buddy," he replied, giving me a sad smile but refusing to look me I the eye.

"Promise me you'll keep yourself out of trouble," I demanded making him look me in the eye this time, I could see tears swimming in those deep blues.

"I will," he promised, wiping a paw across his face streaking it with dirt and blood, mine. I gasped in agony as my body started to spasm and new lacerations appeared along my chest weeping blood but suddenly the pain started to lessen until it was no less noticeable than one of the many scars that covered my body that had healed long ago. It was still there but it had been reduced to a slight throbbing that was easily ignored and compared to what it had been, disregarded. Then I couldn't see the trees or even Daxter anymore, instead I saw Gol, Maia, Errol, Praxis, Kor everyone who had ever tried to kill me. I saw Keira, Ashelin, Torn, Tess, Samos, Pecker, Onin, Vin, Sig, Seem, all my friends the people I cared for, all except Daxter, he was somewhere else. They stood on opposite sides with me in the no-man's land, my Dark side stood next to me grinning maliciously and snarling only to be overshadowed by my light side He took the Dark's place and nodded to me while smiling sadly, I didn't acknowledge him and he seemed to understand. But they all disappeared only to me replaced by Damas standing in front of me and smiling. I smiled back, a real one for the first time in years.

"It's time for you to leave, brave warrior," he announced, gesturing me to come with him.

"Bye, Dax," I whispered, sighing as the last traces of pain faded away and pure light filled me washing away everything.

_**_**_**Daxter's POV**_**_**_

"Bye, Dax," he breathed, his last, and I could see the light leave his Sapphire blues which for just a second looked like the innocent Aquamarines they used to be. One last smile rested on his lips, a real smile the way he used to smile before all this crap happened to us, he truly was my best friend in those last moments. The boy that everyone thought had died in the Baron's prison made one last appearance before leaving this world for good.

"Bye Jak, see yuh on the other side," I muttered passing a paw over his eyes closing them as his once lively gaze became glassy and flat. I climbed onto his chest and curled my tail around myself, crying into the crude material of his blood soaked shirt. That's how they found me hours later, crying on his cold dead body while he smiled up at them, always the stronger one.

The Hero. The Savior. The Warrior. The Devil. A God. Prince Mar. He had been called many things in his life but only one person had ever gotten to truly call him their best friend.

That one was me, to me he was just Jak and he always would be, just Jak.

**

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DEF: So what do you think? Was it good, bad, horrible? Tell me by reviewing.**

**Kate: I'd say horrible and I thought you weren't allowed on the computer?**

**DEF: Yeah, but you're not allowed to play the game but look! Is that Jak on the T.V?**


	2. Goodbye, brave warrior

**DEF:**** Okay so this maybe turning into a three shot, this chapter is going to be Jak's funeral through different eyes.**_  
_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jak. I do however earn the plot and the sayings so steal them and see what happens.**

** You've been warned**

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_"Forgetting is the start of healing but sometimes, _

_The wound would seem too deep and painful_

_To ever heal completely." -Robin

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_**Daxter**_

I stood in front of Spargus' Palace, welcoming everyone with a stupid, fake smile on my face, I hadn't smiled since that day, almost a week ago, I think I'd forgotten how. Was this how the big guy always felt? As if he had to put on a show for all these bastards?

Frankly, it sucked ass.I couldn't imagine having to do this every friggin' day, having to please these people when all I wanted to do was just tell them to shove it and then go hide in a corner.I couldn't believe we had postponed his funeral for all of these fuckers, didn't he deserve something more, something better than a glorified showcase? He had saved all of them more times than I cared to count but still he'd lain rotting for a week while they crowded in from all corners of this Hell Hole they called a Haven. Ashelin was the one really though, she had gone to a treaty meeting to Kras City and Torn said we had to wait, it just wouldn't do if the ruler of the City was gone for their Savior's last rites.

Bull Shit! They never knew him the way I had, they were just putting on a front for the mindless civvies. The very same who a year ago had thrown him out it the desert to rot then begged him for help, where had they all been _**then**_?

**_'Oh the Baron is so amazing for coming all this way for a simple funeral!'_**

I sighed and stared up at the sky, the night air was cool, an amazing transformation from the sweltering days and baking heat. I smiled ruefully as I remembered why we were having his funeral in the dark of night.

_**"I like the night better Dax, no one's there to judge me"  
**_

He'd told me that so long ago that I'd forgotten until now, until it was too late to ask him why, not that I ever really needed to ask, I never had been referring to his darker side, the side that this place had given him, a feral thing that he had to fight everyday, even more than the Metal Heads. They attacked the outside, you could run from them but how do you run from something that comes from the inside?

No one had been there at night, not even me, he'd made sure of that, always making some lame ass excuse for me to go away.

_**'Tess needs you at the bar' **_

**_'I talk in my sleep, I'll keep you up'_**

Tess never needed me and I knew for a fact he didn't talk in his sleep, it came form all those years of being a mute, he often forgot he could talk. I was the on who couldn't shut up, the one who was always getting us into trouble, he was the silent best friend who laughed at my mistakes and helped me clean up the mess afterward. I knew why he always sent me away, it was because he was afraid of himself, he was afraid he would hurt me, the creature would kill me.

There had been only one time where I'd had to fear for my life and that had been just after I sprang him from Prison, he had been in pain and had been rotting in there for two years with no hope for tomorrow, I never blamed him. If anything I was afraid he would be mad at me for leaving him there to endure that pain, but he never said a thing about it, i always suspected that he was just as guilty for almost killing me that day.

"Hey Chili Pepper, it's time to go in," Sig called, I spun around, sure enough everyone had been seated and were waiting for the casket to be brought in.

I nodded, he gave me a sad glance and walked out, he was one of the pallbearers, him and three more of Damas' most trusted men, the very same who'd borne the old king to his final resting place inside this Arena. I eyed the desert once more, it was magical under the full moon, how could something so beautiful ever foreshadow something so horrible? I could almost see him tearin' up out there in one of the vehicles, racing in just seconds ahead of a storm, it was one of the few things he enjoyed his way to short life.

I'd thought about his life so much after it ended, looking back it had been so sad, a mute boy with no family and an uncle who was barely there, left in the care of a grumpy old man with only an obnoxious red head to play with and a green haired girl to like. The sad thing was, those were the best years of his life, those innocent days spent playing in the Forbidden Jungle, chasing seagulls along Sentinel Beach, learning about the Precursors from Samos. When we'd the only rule we had ever rule, he was the one who tried to fix it, I' had just stood around and bitched about it while he was risking his life for what? Me? I didn't deserve his affection. He had been a happy kid, so carefree, so full of life, everyone thought that kid had died a long time ago but in reality he had only died last week.

Yeah, the experiments in Prison had changed him into a blood thirsty creature of mass murder but the boy was still there, hiding behind cold blue sapphire orbs, locked away inside a body full of anger and a desire for revenge. Only once in a blue moon would Jak let that boy resurface, it would be as unexpected as his transformations into his darke half and just as sad, only when something wasn't there could you miss it and the simple fact that the boy **_was_** there just beyond reach was devastating.

I climbed into my seat just as the signal was given to stand, it was finally starting, the last time I'd see my best buddy above ground, the last time I'd ever see that boy, I wasn't sure I could take it, Tess was already crying, Keira was just blank. In the days leading up to his death, she and Jak had been at a disagreement, ah hell who was I kiddin? They were fuckin pissed at each other!

She had gotten fed up of his 'don't-care' attitude, the way he would show up on her door step in tattered clothes and blood running down his face, staining his hair and simply expect her to patch him up. Torn had tried to talk him into going to the infirmary but that was in the Palace and from what he'd let slip, that was where they use to perform experiments and it had also functioned as the morgue. He hated the Palace itself with a vengeance, even though he tried to act differently, when it had crashed down I was the only one who'd seen his darke smirk, the way he cursed happily under his breath. I still could remember what he'd said, at the time I'd been confused and I still was.

**_ "Finally finished what I started"_**

If I was a normal sane person, I would think that he'd been the one to bomb the place but I knew better than that so I could only guess at what he meant, he sure as Hell couldn't tell me anymore.

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_**Sig**_

Up in front behind the podium old man Samos was reading the eulogy of the kid's life, I'd known it had been some messed up shit but I'd never known how messed up. I'd read the reports on the Darke Warrior Program from our spies in the Palace but Damas' had never told me that they'd treated the subjects like that. No wonder the kid had been so messed up, we Wastelanders endured some bad shit but compared to Jak, we had it easy, he made trips into storms look like a nice stroll along the beach.

I'd always the first day I'd seen him, striding into the Hip Hog like he owned the place, it ticked off the big man and ticking off the big man was not something you wanna do unless you have a death wish. I'd been the hired muscle back then, the bouncer of sorts so when I cut off the rough looking teen I was shocked to see monster in his place. I wasn't one of Damas' best for nothing, out there, it was survival of the fittest, I knew what danger smelled like and this boy reeked of it, he was a bonafide badass and that made me back down, if nothing else than to see what would happen. I watched from the shadows as the kid sweet talked the big guy, the little orange rat was in danger of becoming lunch but he didn't seem aware of his impending death.

The blond was much more alert, his ears twitched at the lightest sound, the sound of the door opening, the shuffle of booths, hell he even reacted to the clock ticking, the kid was tense to say the least. I'd dealt with ex-convicts from the Baron's Prison, hard ass Wastelanders, even the eco monks and none of 'em had been as guarded as this kid. The monks had been training for years to be observant of every damn thing, they even sensed eco channels for Mar's sake!

But I was sure this Jak character could beat them hands down, their ass would be strung to a wall before they could say "Precursors".

Damas had already suspected that Jak was his son from the very second he laid eyes on the boy but he didn't say a word, he had waited until the very end to reveal anything, and even then it had been cryptic. I never did understand his judgment, he had searched for his son for years after the boy had been taken but he didn't say a word. Was it because he didn't want to believe that his son had become a monster?

Well Jak would find out himself pretty soon.

According to Daxter, Jak had killed off all the Metal Heads in Haven Forest when they were leaving, or so he had thought, the little shit had been struck from behind, never thinking even once that he had missed any. In a sick and twisted way, Praxis and Errol really had killed him, it was because of his darke side he was dead, if he hadn't been fighting with it, he would've sensed the Metal Head before it had a chance to get him and we wouldn't be here. God why didn't anyone go with him?

So what if he was the best, even the best needed help sometimes, especially when the best have their own demons to deal with.

_**"Hope you're happy up there chillipepper." **_

I sighed and got up, Samos was done and now it was my turn to speak as the King of Spargus, a title I didn't deserve, it belonged to the true heir, I was just an impostor.

* * *

**_Keira_**

God, when would it end? Daddy had gone on and on about how short his life was, how sad, now Sig was talking about the valuable warrior they'd lost, Ashelin even had the audacity to say how sorry she was he couldn't have died taking out the Nest.

**What the fuck was wrong with these people?**

They were all fakes, they only saw him for a weapon, even Daddy, he'd known something was wrong for days but he just wouldn't tell me what, I had to hear about it from Pecker. The annoying multicolored bastard had come to tell me that the eco flow was unbalanced or some shit like that and that I had to start my training to become a Sage. He and Onin and Daddy wanted me to become some great Green Eco Sage but I just couldn't feel the supposed pull of the eco, I couldn't 'hear' what it was telling me and I didn't want to!

Jak was the one who was supposed to become a Sage, it was the only thing he used to enjoy back when we were kids, he would read everything he could about the eco flows and he was good at it unlike me who could only use eco in my vehicles. While the bastard was there, Jak walked in, the mouthy parrot took one look and flew away faster than you could say 'Kras Eco Cup'. Jak had known too, and I hated him for that, I was supposed to be one of his oldest friends and he hadn't even said goodbye.

Instead our last words had been full of hate and lies, he had come to me for help and rather than help him I lost it and started screaming at him for putting me through Hell every time he came through my door. He had come back from another run in the desert,this time was worse than the others, his arm hung at an impossible angle that hurt to**_ look_** at, his chest resembled a piece of bloodied meat and his face was almost as bad. I didn't wait for an explanation, I just pushed him down on the work bench and started fixing him up as best as I could which just had to be good enough, I was no medic, Hell I was lucky I knew how to fix a splint.

In the end my poor medical skills never really mattered, the Darke Eco in his body was already fixing him, but it was a painful process, the worst had to be when his arm reset itself in the wrong place, he had to re-break it and try to keep still while I set it correctly. When the healing was done he still looked like hell so I gave him a sedative and cleaned up the blood, like always. I always had to patch him up after he broke himself, every god damn time!

When he woke up and started talking about going back out to the desert to kill the Metal Head that got him, I just, I just lost it and blew up at him. I blamed him for bringing us here and I blamed him for deliberately putting his life on the line for no fucking reason, that I would've been better off with Errol. He hadn't said a word until then, he just stood there and took my abuse with an impassive face but when I let the name he despised with every fiber of his being he exploded, only he was much scarier.

He had never changed anywhere near me but that time was different, the demon everyone in their right minds feared appeared for a split second in my garage and I was but a hair's breath away from being its latest victim. The pale corpse blue skin, bleached hair, deadly pear white fangs like a hunting cat's, shiny dark eco lite claws longer than my forearm, twisting onyx horns sprouting from its temples was so grotesque my stomach rolled nauseously but the most horrifying thing had to be the eyes. Orbs a haunting darker black that seemed to suck at your soul, trying to drag out your deepest fears then turn them on you until you were sent into screaming insanity. This creature was not of this earth, it was an unholy thing spawned in the depths of the underworld, come here to send us all to the devil, hell maybe that thing was the devil it was sure damn close.

I was more scared than I'd been in my entire life and in those short seconds I was sure I was dead, I saw all my friends and family, everything I'd worked for, taken away in one fell swoop by this thing that used to be my friend. It took one step forward, effectively trapping me between the wall and its body which was somehow taller than Jak's how was that possible? I never knew if I imagined the smirk on its lips or not but the next second the thing had turned back to Jak and he ran out of the Garage at top speed.

That had been the last time I'd seen him alive, the last time I'd really seen**_ him_** and not the front he put on for the mindless masses, and God and I think I hated it more than the act.

* * *

_**No one's pov**_

The King Of Spargus stepped down from the podium and the crowd moved for ward as one, the casket was lined with sapphires and the symbol of Mar was inscribed on the lid, it had taken painstaking days to get it perfectly done in the Precursor metal. This was the last chance to show any respects that anyone wished to express, in a few short moments the lid would be fixed and lowered into the hole dug next to the old King's. The Hero had wished to be buried but the Baroness had ordered the body burned to prevent any further contamination, many had cursed her decision including the current King, the Hero was to be buried.

Overhead the moon blazed its pale brilliance, the stars sparkled with a mournful glow and even the wind seemed to sing a song of regret, everything mourned for the Hero for everything owed its life to the Hero. The waves that broke on far away shores knew that the boy who had played on them through time was gone. The trees that had witnesses massacres under their branches knew that the monster that had defiled their purity was gone and yet they mourned.

The makers of this new world had felt the pain as the greatest among them had been destroyed but they knew it was not their place to mourn, they had used the boy as a tool and had no business intruding on his final rites.

Many flowers fell upon the golden casket yet none remembered the Hero had asked for no roses, he had preferred the night blooming violets of the deserts whose beauty he'd viewed many a time. The blue flowers had reminded him of the good in life and helped him find a reason to fight on when his friends lives were not enough, when the destiny of the world had not been enough, these flowers had been sufficient.

They showed him that not everything had been tainted by the darkeness he'd fought for almost his entire life, that it was possible to escape its grasp and remain pure throughout the worst. The mere fact that the violets chose to grow in such a harsh environment had made him want to move on and protect the last bit of good in his Godforsaken Hell hole.

The green haired girl did not cry for his supposed lover, she did not throw any flowers, she simply stared as his body was lowered into the ground, never again to see the light of day. She didn't want to believe it but she had lost her friend years ago to this place and the thing which had died had not been him, only a stranger in his skin.

The little Ottsel had remained calm during the entire service but now tears leaked from his pale blue orbs as if they would never stop, he had never given up hope that his friend could be saved, not until the dying seconds. He alone knew of his brother's aversion to the roses everyone threw, but instead of the night flowers, he threw a single blue iris to rep[resent the hope he had for his friend.

_**"I'll see you in the next one buddy, and I'll be damned if we don't tear it up like we did in this one."**_

The small animal was taken away by a tattooed man, the man gave the coffin the look of an honored comrade. True Torn had used him but the ex-commander had never tired to lie about it, he had always been outright with his intentions and the Hero had seemed to respect that.

Many more people followed after the ones who'd been considered to be close to the deceased but none showed any real emotion, they had simply shown up because they had been invited, it would be rude to turn do the invitation. Many still feared the blond man, they had heard the rumors, some had even been unlucky enough to see the demon that he held inside him but none had ever seen the real man.

They had never seen the man he'd really been, they had preferred to believe the lies and cower in fear as he passed them on the streets, then they had the audacity to come to his funeral. He had never been accepted in life and they never would, it was too late for acceptance, all he could ever hope for was the respect of having saved their worthless lives over and over again.

Snow began falling from the heavens, a last gift to the fallen Hero, the only thing that the desert had to offer, the only thing that had remained untainted in a city filled with filth, but what no one else knew was that the Hero had remained untainted too.

* * *

_"A Hero's life is a sad tale _

_but one he must live alone _

_ or risk hurting those closest to him."-Robin_

_

* * *

_

* * *

**DEF: Okay so in this one I put three different povs. Daxter was the pissed friend, Sig was the self hating impostor and Keira was a heartless bitch, not how she said Darke was a thing and an it instead of he. So review and maybe I'll make a part three where we see what happens after Jak's death.  
**


	3. And the Three Shot becomes mulitchapter

**DEF: God damn annoying reviewers! I'm making this a longer story than I intended and in the end Jak comes back!**

**Vita: She doesn't mean that. She loves you all!**

**DEF: Shuddup. Okay you jackals. I have to write how shitty it is for everyone else before I start bringing Jakie back to life so any suggestions as to who has it worst is good. I'm writing the rest of this story in thrid person pov though. Also I won't be putting in any fluff what-so-ever, no 'Keira's/Ashelin's/Rayne's love was so strong it brought him back!' crap or anything like that. So in the next chapter we have Daxter, Torn and Samos, with the athour's pov in there too. There will be a total of six character povs so tell me which ones you wanna hear from.**

**Vita: I'm her new bffmm so I'll be helping with this stroy from now on.  
**


	4. And Life Goes On Or does it?

**DEF: So as I promised this is the real chapter three where we start to glimpse what life without Jak is like, and because so many of you begged for me to bring him back, it's also his resurrection. The resurrection will be seen through no one in particular so you could make up any one you want.**

_Vita: We don't own Jak and Daxter because the stupid monkey caught us when we were trying to steal the ownership papers._

* * *

**_Torn_**

The feeble light of day shone through the curtains, the ex-KG commander groaned but managed to roll himself off the bed, he had an important meeting with the Freedom League Captain about the reported movement from the Nest and Ashelin would skewer him if he missed it. They would need all the fire power they could get which meant Sig was sitting in on this meeting, his Wastelanders could provide the necessary assistance, they couldn't afford to lose anymore men.

He sighed as he pulled on his booths, they wouldn't need all this if he'd just sent more soldiers to check out the forest in the first place, in a way this was his fault, he had killed the best soldier they had. Odd how the little orange bastard had always said he would, maybe if he'd should've listened to him more, he should've listened to a lot more people more than he had.

His stubbornness had killed more than he cared to admit, it had gotten him kicked out of the KG even a high ranking commander could be dismissed if he posed threat to the entire KG unit and the dread locked red head had so the Baron had gotten rid of him. He could remember that day well, it was about six years ago, he'd been what? Eighteen, he'd risen through the ranks faster than anyone else and had become the Baron's right hand man, his cousin Errol had risen almost as quickly.

They'd been called prodigies, everyone respected them, most feared but in a place like Haven they were about the same thing. It had been shortly after the attack in Dead Town, he had misjudged the extent of the damage and led a team into the thick of the invasion, what made it worse was the fact that the Baron was with him.

Before he could redirect the troops to form a circle around the Baron there was a huge explosion and all he could hear were the screams of his comrades as they fell to the ground around him. When the smoke cleared all he could see was crimson, blood had soaked everything so thoroughly that he didn't even recognize the Baron among the bodies which lay strewn on the blacken soil. The rear guard arrived on scene minutes later and carted off all the dead and dying, it was sickening to see how emotionlessly they acted.

There was a simple trial in which the ex-KG was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by hanging, the execution was to be held the next day after Praxis was discharged by the infirmary. He had been to many executions but he had never really known what it must feel like knowing that there was no hope for life, no chance to redeem yourself.

The next day all the citizens who were able turned out for the hanging, it wasn't often they had a KG commander hung around here and they all wanted to know the story from a reliable source. His 'so-called' crime was read from a scroll by his cousin Errol, that little bastard would take his place now, Ashelin didn't even look at him as he walked up to the platform, she would be his too. Everyone tried to look solemn but not many managed, they were a blood thirsty lot, the only one who looked outright cheerful was a stumpy old man with a log on his head.

The old man nodded happily and gestured to the stairs that led to the street level, he couldn't make heads or tails of the senile old coot but what the hell, might as well humor the man, he gave one brisk nod of the head, then chaos erupted. For the second time that week Torn found himself enveloped in dense smoke and the sound of screaming, someone grabbed hold of his arm and jerked him forward. Trusting that the person knew where they were going, he hit the street at a dead run, he didn't know where the hell he was being taken but he did know that anything beat staying there.

When the smoke finally cleared, he was in a dead end ally in the slums and judging from the sirens, the KG had been alerted of his escape, there was no where to hide and no where to run he was done for. The stumpy old man was pushing against a bare piece of wall, guess the old geezer was the one who'd dragged him half way through the city, the senile old bastard could run that was for sure.

"Don't just stand there like a dead tree stump, help me push!" the old man ordered.

Hey if the crazy bastard wanted to push a wall who was the ex-KG to stop him, non the less, he still helped press against the wall until the section of plaster slowly shifted to reveal a gaping hole with a flight of stairs leading into blackness.

"Well get in! They're right there!" The decrepit old tree stump yelled pushing him forward into the darke.

He needn't have worried though cause the KG being the jackasses they were, didn't even think to look in the dead end alley, after all who would be stupid enough to hide there? Well other than them of course.

As it turned out the old man was the Leader of the notorious Under Ground revolution that had been a pain in the KG's ass for some time, their latest act of protest had been to bomb a shipment of Eco Ore that came in at the Port. Radical stunts like that were what allowed the Metal Heads to break in, they took away attention from important areas of the the wall long enough for the Metal Heads to band together and attack. They were known radicals who would do anything to get their point across, and if intel was right, more people were joining everyday. When the KG commander had been sentenced to death, the resistance had used the opportunity to gain an invaluable asset, someone with inside info on the Baron's new experiments as well as the Baron's best strategist.

It didn't take much convincing to get the red head to join the Under Ground, he was pissed off at his 'comrades' and this was just was way to fuck up their 'glorious' Haven City.

Yeah, he'd always been hot headed, it cost more lives than he cared to remember but it had never stopped him before, not even when his own life had been on the line, it never hit home like this.

But this, the loss of the greatest soldier he'd ever had was what it finally took for him to realize, he would never find anyone who could get the job done like Jak and they had _**needed **_him, this war wasn't over, far from it. They might have beaten back the remainder of Errol's KG robots but there were still too many Metal Heads and they were in the City. Kor, might've been the only one able to reproduce live Metal Heads but metal nests still existed and more of the bastards were popping out everyday and they would soon be overwhelmed again. He had never trusted anyone else more, not even Ashelin, the one thing he ever trusted Jak with was the fact that he would always come back alive and it had been the one constant in his God forsaken life. When the blond had been kicked out in the desert, he had given him up for lost but still the blond bastard had come back alive and pissed as Hell for some more revenge at the expense of this city. His death, that had been it, the blow from the left field that they couldn't recover from, the sucker punch that had them spitting blood on the ground.

"Hey Tattoos, you lookin' a little green, you alright?" The huge Wastelander was the first to arrive for the meeting, he always was, if he wasn't punctual, he would freak out, the red head knew it was something to do with the Wastelander's family.

The Commander grunted a reply, neither yes nor no but they both knew the answer to that question by now, it been discussed too many times and no one could come up with a positive response to the situation. The worst was the waiting, knowing that soon the enemy would soon learn of their loss and attack. Yeah, Torn was back in his small cell waiting to be executed, only this time he wasn't the only one, the rest of the City was waiting with him whether they knew it or not.

"Poor bastards," he chuckled humorlessly, overhead the dark rain clouds finally relieved themselves of their burden, but not even a flood could wash away the filth of this City, the absolute filth of death.

* * *

_**Samos**_

The old man sighed as the rains poured down upon them all in a seemingly endless deluge, he shook his head, normally such things would calm him but not today, it just wasn't enough to make up for the loss of Mar. He was never supposed to die in this time, his death could very well unravel the fabric of the universe and he doubted even the Precursor's could stop such a thing from happening. Jak was the one who had brought the Metal Heads to the world in the first place, he was the one who'd opened the warp gate in the past and unleashed them upon the world. If he hadn't none of them would be there, it was an endless loop, Jak opened the warp gate, Mar went back in time to create the City and the gun to fight the creatures. Death came later along in the loop when Mar was finally overcome by the Darke Eco in his system, the mutated beasts were never supposed to touch him, he had been promised that.

Samos sighed again, he had consulted the plants but they would not say, he had Onin search the past as well as the future, maybe their Jak wasn't THE Mar, maybe their was another Time Walker who would build Haven. The Precursor contacted them through the Oracle statues but they would not reveal the identity of the planet's Savior, they expressed regret over Jak's death but other than that they would say no more.

"Arwk! Samos, Onin says you are to come at once!" Pecker squawked flying out almost as quickly as he had come, sometimes that bird was just asking for a good knock on his fat feathered head. Still grumbling to himself, Samos left the relative peace and quiet of his room for the chaos of the commander center of Freedom HQ, everywhere you looked guards were rushing around like droplets of water. Off to the left, hidden behind a tower of computers, was the tiny shriveled form of Onin the sooth sayer, Haven's one and only prophet, Samos also suspected that she had at one time been a Sage of Blue Eco but she wasn't saying, not that she could anyway.

The flamboyant monkaw landed on his perch, the old woman's hat, he bowed deeply before proceeding to translate the mute's brand of sign language which only he could understand, Precursor's only knew how.

"Onin says that there is only one way to bring back the fallen Hero but she does not understand how it is possible. Arwk, the powers of eco are mysterious, and eco cannot be destroyed, only converted to another form, crystal to liquid to ammo and so on. Even the eco infused in Metal Heads is not destroyed upon death, if given the chance, the eco could repair the body but it would take years, maybe until the end of this world itself," the bird explained.

"Onin say, that this may happen to Jak but she is not certain, something is blocking her form viewing his future, it could possibly be because he _**is**** dead**_, for dead men tell no tales, but no, Onin does not believe this to be true. The eco flow of the planet has been in flux ever since you came to the City but the Hero's death has totally destroyed the delicate balance that once harmonized the eco. If something is not done soon, eco will rip the planet apart killing us all and, coincidentally, the only one with a hope of saving us is none other than Jak," the monkaw proclaimed gravely.

Samos drew a quick breath to steady himself, he had always known that Jak was special in his mastery of eco but he had not thought the boy's death would throw the balance of eco itself off course. Well, there was no doubt in his mind now, Mar was the Time Walker of legend, but what a forgotten legend it was, he'd never heard it in anywhere else but SandOver village.

When the warp gate had tossed them back in time, they had been dumped on the spit of land that bordered on the Forbidden Jungle, people had been scared, a natural reaction of course but they had been accepted. They had been given a room in the mayor's house and it was from the mayor's blind grandmother did he hear the tale.

* * *

_'Far ahead, in the distant future, monsters of such fearsome power live to terrorize the inhabitants of the planet. Entire cities will be over run by these creatures and life will only be able to exist behind colossal security walls. Many will try to destroy these creatures but this will only enrage them further, only one man will ever be able to stand up to such beasts and will come from a place none have ever been. Three hundred years from now this Hero will appear, a master of eco but not from that time era, no, from ours. He is the Time Walker, the Hero of this planet, the first among us to meet the Precursors and live. He will live in many eras and save the world from disaster in each one, his death will send the planet into a period of mourning. Sadly this great Hero will be deserted in his time of need and all who claimed to have loved him will let his name fall into ruin as they try to forget the past. And what could kill such a man when the creatures of the future could not? The Time Walker's greatest weapon of course, eco, its Darkness will take over his soul, poison his mind and destroy his sanity until his is pushed over the abyss into death's cruel embrace.' _

* * *

The old woman had given a grating laugh at the end of the tale, the next day she was found dead, killed by a heart attack, Samos had always thought the woman was a prophet for no one else could tell him of this 'Time Walker', and how else could she describe their future so well? The last thing she had ever said was a cryptic message that he hadn't paid any attention to for years but it was oddly ironic.

_**"Watch for it Sage, watch for the one who walks with Light and Darke hand in hand, if he is allowed to die before the allotted time his death will bring the destruction of us all!"**_

After that prophecy, the old woman had collapsed in a fit of maniacal laughter, she'd been led away to calm her nerves and the mayor had apologized for the old woman's 'raving lunatics', as he put it.

"Only time will tell if another shall be born who can right the eco imbalance, darke eco may be the poison that infects but light eco is the antidote which heals. Many would think to get rid of all darke eco but they would never be more wrong, everything needs a balance if we are to survive. Destroy the poison and the cure will change to suffice for the lack, then all we would be left with was more poison and no way of curing ourselves," Pecker mused fluttering off to another perch.

"Truer words never spoken bird, and I have a feeling we just killed the cure. If that's true, then we're in for a hell of a lot of poison and there's nothing we can do to stop it," Samos muttered darkly, overhead the lighting flashed and thunder rumbled accenting his words.

* * *

_**Seem  
**_

"Orange Lightening, I did not expect you here, did you come to pray?" Seem asked as she(?) stood close to the edge of the temple, the guards had rebuilt it and refrained form outfitting it with countless weapons, this was a place of peace and worship not target practice. She knew that Jak had stepped in to help there, Baron Ashelin had wanted to make the temple a temporary fortress in case of attack again. That woman was as bloodthirsty as her father, the only difference was she knew what was right from wrong, a simple lesson her father had never learned.

"Nothing really, it's just really nice up here, never really got to appreciate it last time I was up here," the small orange ottsel explained gazing out at the horizon. She shuddered delicately as she remembered the 'last time', Darke Makers had invaded the temples and killed many of her brothers in the Golden Order of the Precursors and damn near almost killed her. They had been allied with Errol who had been after the time map, an ancient artifact that was said to have been used by Mar in the making of Haven City, she had a suspicion that it was the very same Jak had used when he first came to Haven.

During the reconstruction of the Temple, the Hero had hung around quite a bit and had finally told the monk of his journey to Haven, she had remembered on that very day how the eco flow had fluxed and new Light eco vents had burst into life. Had that been because of the Hero? Wherever the Hero had gone in the temple, long dead Precursor objects sprang to life, vents reopened after years of nothing, they were all jolted awake by the blond's strong eco flow. Days before Jak's death all the Precursor artifacts had gone back into hibernation, an ominous sign she should have heeded, she could have at least warned the Hero to be more careful than usual but she had done nothing. She had believed that the artifacts had simply run out of eco again and were returning to their previous state of rest.

"The planet's eco flow is unbalanced, as is yours Orange Lightening," she murmured glancing at the ottsel, he made no indication that this bothered him, if it had been her she would have been terrified, an unbalanced eco flow meant certain death if not corrected.

"I know, I've known for eight days exactly now, and it ain't righting itself any time soon," he muttered bitterly punching the column next to him, the pain on his face was something she had never seen before, his grief was complete and untainted. She had seen much grief in her life as an Eco Monk but none had ever been as true with their emotions, this little Precursor was wise beyond his years, surely there was something she could do.

"But you must know what that means?" she queried, maybe being from another time he did not know of such dangers, but no he was smart enough to detect the imbalance, he would know what it meant.

"Death, right? But answer me this, would it be that bad? I mean my best friend's gone and the Metal Heads are gonna attack soon anyway, and let's face it, without Jak we're all goners, better sooner than later right?" He asked jokingly although there was absolutely nothing funny about it. What had happened to the optimistic ottsel she had met all those months ago? He and Jak had more than best friends, what no one had ever realized was that they were brothers too, both had admitted to her that if not for the other they couldn't face this Hell hole they called home.

Jak had been there from the beginning, always there to count on, but with him gone, Daxter's sanity was slowly slipping away, much like the Hero's had due to the darke eco experiments. Only Daxter didn't have someone there to help him, another way they needed each other, this damn city had twisted them so much but it had also strengthened their bond, hell of a lot of good it did now, what happened to the whole if half was gone? The remaining half collapsed in on itself and slowly died away.

"You do not know that, there are ways, this City existed before your arrival and the threat is much smaller this time," she assured him but it did no good, he was already hanging on by his finger tips and the pull of the abyss was too strong.

A cold wind blew ominously, black thunder clouds were driven ahead of it, she waited patiently for them to pass, but they didn't, they covered the entire night sky and blotted out the newly risen full moon.

The first drop fell moments later, in a few seconds she was soaked to the skin and the wastelands were experiencing its first rain in almost three centuries of drought, it was the beginning of the end.

* * *

_**No-one**_

The desert was drowned by the rains, the feeble river that wound its way through the acrid sands overflowed its almost non-existent banks creating a raging channel of water. Lizards and Leapers fled to higher ground whilst Metal Heads retreated deeper in their caves, never before had they experienced such a thing. Cacti soaked up as much water as they could, some burst with the huge intake, as the Monk had said, this truly was the beginning of the end.

This desert had sprung up in the absence of the Hero, he had been lost in time and landed three centuries ahead of his start, his eco flow had allowed life to reign in this place. His disappearance caused the eco flow to off balance in this place thus creating a desert, his arrival had started the re-vitalization process and the desert was slowly coming back to life but now that he was gone, everything had been thrown completely off course. Now the wastelands didn't know if it should continue its rebirth or become even more inhospitable, the way in which it reacted was the former to the extreme, if it continued raining like this the sea would quickly claim this land.

As lightening cracked high over head, two figures danced hand in hand, seemingly unaware of the down pour, where their bare skin met, sparks of dark light shot across the sand in a marvelous display. One could only be described as an angel, for what other creature had wings such as he, spindly things made of pure power, connected by a thin membrane of light, and glowed with that beautiful otherworldly radiance? Its skin glowed faintly, the exact color of the renowned Light eco, so pure and beautiful it hurt to look at. The eyes seemed to search your soul for all the good you had ever done and reflected it back a thousand fold with an expressionless face that seemed somehow wistful.

The other had to be the devil himself come to earth, black horns curved form his head like some sort of grotesque crown, midnight claws of ecolite but no doubt more deadly but lovely in a fatal way, much like death's cold kiss. Its skin was a bleached color, achromatic , the shade of a corpse, milky almost translucent fangs that curved delicately like a hunting cat's, able to deliver death with ice cold precision. Where the other's eyes had held light, this one's eyes held darkness like a black hole that sucks in all it encounters, staring deep into your very being and dragging out all the darkest secrets that you tried to keep hidden and making them that much worse.

The Devil growled whenever he touched the Angel's bare skin, but he continued the dance, his growls echoing off the sand dunes and into the night, they rivaled the thunder in volume but not in horror, none could beat him there. He was the stuff of nightmare's given shape and life, he was the being whose very presence induced death.

The Angel never said a word whenever the Devil growled, he simply increased the pace of the dance until they were a blur of darke and light, it didn't seem as if they would ever stop, when they did it was so unexpected one wondered if it had been planned.

The Devil released the Angel at the same time the Angel pulled away, both beings were sent reeling to opposite ends of the desert, they stood on two huge dunes and studied each other carefully, as if trying to find similarities. Despite they being to completely different beings, one of light, one of darkness, there were many things in common about them.

They both bore the same facial features but the way they were worn made them almost unrecognizable, one pulled into a snarl, the other had no expression, the build was the same although the Devil fell into a hunting crouch making him seem shorter while the Angel help himself erect. They both had the same short hair, one was bleached away while one held a faint light blue glow, the clothes were the same although it was hard to tell when one pair was stained with blood and other filths and one was enveloped in a blue light.

_"Darke." _ The Angel called, the Devil growled but inclined his head.

The voice of the Angel was like nothing ever heard before, it was a mixture of a pure note, the perfect sound and the softest, most beautiful sigh in the world, all the good things you could hope for in life, in one place. In his beauty, the Angel was frightening, a being that should not be among men.

**"Light."** The Devil rasped, the Angel nodded slowly.

The voice of the Devil was the polar opposite of the Angel's, a concoction of the worst scream, the most heartbreaking cry and the gurgle of something choking on blood, all tossed together to form the voice of death. In his hideousness, the Devil was heart stoppingly beautiful, death was often seen as beauty, was it not?

_"It has begun. Do you propose we stop it."_ The Angel asked in a tone that changed it to a statement.

**"Why Light, I thought you would jump at the chance to save these fuckers."** The Devil sneered, baring his fangs maliciously.

_"I cannot do this alone, I need your help too, Darke. Will you lend your assistance."_ The Angel went on in the same tone as before, pointedly ignoring the vulgarity of the Devil.

**"Not a question _dearest _brother Light, but how do we help them without killing them all?"** The Devil asked, in his mind the only thing he could do to help was to end their suffering sooner than they expected.

_"Violence isn't always the answer brother, we shall try my way first, if it fails,then you are free to do as you please." _The Angel suggested knowing the Devil was nothing if not loyal to his word.

**"Now you have yourself a deal brother Light."** The Devil said smirking, he thought the Angel's plan wouldn't work, if it did big whoop, he'd lost nothing, if it didn't, well that was to be seen.

_"Shake on it brother, I know your ways."_ The Angel warned extending his hand across the distance.

**"Fine Light, if that's how you want to play."** The Devil muttered, he sighed and extending his hand as well.

**_"In this we seal our life's blood, out very essence, our and Light, we form a deal that cannot be broken until the terms are met or all methods exhausted. Let the Land, Sky and Sea be our witnesses to this contract, if one breaks, there shall be outright war, may the best win."_**

Their voices rang out in double tones shaking the very earth with its power, eco enveloped each's hand, the eco sparked against each other, neither side gave way, until their was a bright flash and both entities disappeared as they had come, only the marks on the ground were left to show they'd been there in the first place.

As the rain continued to fall, soon these marks, too, were washed away.

* * *

**DEF: Yeah, I said I'd do Dax in there but it turned to Seem some how. As promised, Jak will come back to life with the help of the Angel and the Devil, if you haven't figured out who they are, you're just plain sad.**

_Vita: Nice Robs, insult the readers. Anyway, read and review. Also in you reviews state who's povs you'd like to see in the next chapter._**  
**


	5. And fighting gets us where?

**DEF:Thanks to all my lovely reviewers. This chapter is gonna have Daxter and Ashelin's povs as well as two surprises.  
**

_Vita:We are sorry to inform you that the transfer of document:Jak_and_Daxter_Ownership failed to be sent to . We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused._

* * *

**_A month later_**

The rains had stopped as suddenly as they had come but the Wastelands were still flooded by their waters, while the Wastelands drowned, Haven City was the scene of one of the worst droughts in history. Water had dried up everywhere and people were dropping dead from the heat, it was hard to believe just weeks ago they too were drowning in six foot deep water. They had endured two day of non stop rain, when the sun had finally shown itself it was blazing hotter then any had ever remembered to be. The only comparison they could make to the blistering heat would be from working in the underground mines that were open to magma vents, if only it could be that cool. The very wind refused to blow to provide any relief from this Hell hole in every sense of the term, if it went on like this, they were sure to be fried like eggs.

None were spared the suns cruel ray's, Metal Head and Human alike were suffering the harsh conditions, already dozens of Metal Head carcasses littered the city streets where they had managed to break in. Guards were failing to protect the City and as such Metal Heads were gaining more and more ground each day, even the remaining KG robots were able to beat back the City new security walls had failed and the Baron had no idea how the City could be saved. Already many guards were trying to resign, they knew that it was a pointless battle but they were denied, they **had** to stay on, whether they wanted to or not.

To think, the once proud, thriving metropolis had been reduced to little more than ashes and their enemy was finally going to overrun their feeble defenses, pathetic, it truly was. The one who had saved them time and again was dead and they were the ones responsible, karma really was a bitch, he stops their enemy, they banish him, he rescues them from total annihilation and they treat him like shit, what goes around comes around.

Wastelanders refused to make any runs into the desert, if it could even be called that anymore, they claimed new monsters inhabited the sands, washed in on the storm tide from ever encroaching ocean. Those who had been brave enough to venture into the sands came back brutally mauled or not at all, none ever lived more than a few seconds, they took their tales to the grave. Vehicles sometimes came back with a charge of Dark eco that was more powerful than the one found in the ancient crystals, no one dared to think of a creature so corrupted by darkness.

Those who returned were mostly drained of blood, the cause would have to be the deep slashes across there chests or the bite marks left by teeth that had ripped out their throats, sometimes a car would come back with a decapitated body, the head never to be found. At least twenty people had gone into the desert, ten were never found, five didn't have heads, four were mauled beyond recognition but only one lived more long enough to warn them.

The man had been missing an arm and a leg, despite all this he might've been saved if not for the eco poisoning. Everyone had a level of eco tolerance to almost all types, green did nothing at all, blue got you hyper, good for battle, yellow could be deadly if taken in large amounts, red would surely burn your blood, light was simply too strong and there wasn't a question about the death darke eco brought.

The main cause of death in the Baron's experiments had been the participants intolerance to darke eco, it had boiled their blood away and infected their brains sending them into spiraling madness. Many had survived for days, their insides being eaten away, their blood bumbling out of sores, bones had been broken by simple falls, when they died, it was never a quiet affair, they would scream for hours until the guards got pissed off enough to do something. Normally that something would include them pulling a round of bullets in your hide but sometimes they let you fight it out to the end, it was said to be worse than the torture endured at the hands of the Baron's guards.

The man had lived long enough to whisper the words,'the darke one lives, the desert is death,' before collapsing into a puddle of blood. The man's ominous warning had sent chills up the spines of the most war hardened warriors and then some.

Spargus' King ordered his people to stay away from the desert, he would not loose more then he already had, Monks were to stay hidden in the Temple, if they were to leave, it would have to be through the underground tunnels. The tunnels had been discovered shortly after the rebuilding of the Temple, however, they were structurely unsound and none had tried to pass through them as yet and the Temple was as safe a place as any. Dark Makers had invaded, yes, but hopefully this new threat had no way of breaching the new walls, if it did he would collapse the tunnels and prepare his people for war.

Spargus sure as Hell wasn't going down without a fight

* * *

**_Ashelin_**

"I can't believe this! Who authorized that strike?" The pissed red head shouted, the men in front of her quivered faintly, they would gladly face a pack of hungry Metal Heads rather than their commander when she was pissed like this.

"I asked you a question soldier, answer me!" She barked raising her gun at the man's face, he stood his ground while hoping and praying she wouldn't use her weapon. She glared at the guard and fired off a round, if she had learned anything from her father it was always carry through with a threat, it had earned him respect and followers and just then Ashelin needed that fear. The man whimpered and emerged from under the table, he had missed death by a hairs breath and had no doubt in his mind she would fire again.

"Captain Reita ordered an attack on the Metal Head nest in east town, he was killed in the initial attack," the other explained shifting uncomfortably under search an intense inspection.

"Fine, gather the remaining Palace guards and meet me in the command center in one hour, understood?" She asked sharply, both gurads saluted her and high tailed it out of the briefing room.

"Fuck!" She hissed punching the wall, a hundred troops gone in an instant because of that jackass' stupidity, she had **_specifically_** ordered no attacks until the heat wave was over but no, some big shot wants to be a 'Hero' and leads an ill planned attack killing too many soldiers. She sighed, there was just no way out of this, the City would fall sooner or later and there was nothing she could do to stop it, guards were dropping like flies and the enemy wasn't as affected by this blasted heat.

She glared out over the railings, from this height the City was divided into three sections, the first was her own little spit of land where many had retreated for safety, the right next to them, separated by a security wall was the destroyed bits of City and the Catacombs and last, way off in the distance was the Port alongside the Metal Head section.

The heat wave and encroaching Metal Heads weren't even the worst of her problems, no, their eco supplies had been cut off and more and more Dark Eco pools had sprung up. According to reports from scouts, the Wasteland was in knee deep in shit over there too, some new monster stalked the sands, they had relied on eco from the Wasteland for too long. Whatever that creature was, it seemed hell bent on destroying life in the City, already it had attacked two supply ships, on neither occasion did anyone survive. All the eco vents in Haven had died and now machines were failing , soon they would run out of ammo and then the shit would most definitely hit the fan.

Samos and Onin were frantically trying to figure out a way of restoring balance to the eco vents but so far nothing had worked and as if some God up there hated them Daxter was now suffering from intense depression. That was something she had never expected, the annoying little fur ball had always been the most optimistic in their group, he had never given up even when faced with certain death over and over again. It was so abnormal and unbelievable that she had dismissed the rumors she had heard about the Ottsel going suicidal, only when she saw the hanging from the railing once did she believe.

It had been less than a week ago, she had been up later than usual trying to figure out new strategies when she heard the strangled gurgles, when she finally decided to check it out, she'd found the Ottsel hanging by a thick noose over the barriers. She had pulled him in and bathed him in green eco to restart his breathing, when he came to and realized he wasn't dead, he'd started cussin' like a Wastelander. He said she was a nosy bitch for interfering in other people's business and it was her fault that Jak was dead.

She hadn't really thought about Jak's death much, it was just too emotional, she couldn't have emotions intruding on her rationally thinking mind, not when it had so much to do so she had just blocked it out and moved on. She had gone to the funeral of course, she was expected to as their Leader and one of his closest friends, many people had consoled her over the loss but like with her father, she felt nothing. When her mother Ederra had died of eco induced cancer, Ashelin had cried for almost an entire day her father had come to the door once, he had never been a caring man and the few words he spoke were proof of that.

_'You're going to have to lead them someday, emotions are useless in this fight, toughen up or die'_

When Praxis had been after the Precursor stone, he had used her as a bargaining chip, it was in that moment all allegiances to her father had been shattered and she vowed to help in his downfall. She had never once showed any anger for his death, his body was still rotting just beyond the security of his beloved City, he wasn't even good enough to be buried inside their walls. Many people had started rumors about why she refused to bring his body inside the City and the most believable she'd heard so far had to be that he was infected, not really dead, nor alive. Whenever someone had been outside the City and died there, there was always the threat of infection, those infected by Darke Eco suffered intense pain before finally dying.

Sometimes, those who were channelers could absorb the eco into their body and store it for later use, much like Jak had done when he turned into his darker half, but he was he only one they'd found who was strong enough to fight the destructive effects. More often the channeler's system would over load from the power surge and the person would sprout hideous growths of extra limbs or protruding bones, their hair would bleach away and skin would rot like a diseased fruit, it always ended with the channeler's blood overflowing from the orifices. During this period, the heart would stop beating and the brain would shut down but the vocal cords would emit high pitched screams and the nervous system would suffer severe spasms. It was still unknown how this was possible, however, many of the Cities scientists suspected that the eco was trying to mold the body into the perfect weapon, it was because of their suspicions the Darke Warrior Program was created .

Some believed that when Kor attacked Praxis, eco had been absorbed into his body and he had become infected, that he was wandering outside the City's walls, a brainless creature, trying to get back inside. Well, it was believable but absolutely fake, they had checked out all the bodies, the fear of infection was such that they'd burned most of the bodies found and sealed off the exit completely. Only one carcass remained, her father's, he posed no threat and she had refused to burn his body, it would be too close to something respectful and he deserved no respect when she found old records hidden in her father's room, they described the many experiments that he had performed on Ederra once he had found out about he eco channeling abilities. Her cancer had been a result of those experiments, according to the reports, Ederra had only participated because she thought it would help her people and her daughter. Praxis had achieved some success with Ederra but in the end the result was the same, death, Praxis had never once regretted his choice as seen by the last line in the files.

_I thought Ederra would be strong but she's just as weak as the rest of them, she contracted eco cancer and has three weeks to live. She swears not to tell anyone about our experiments on the condition Ashelin is never to find out about the experiments, as long as she agrees to let us experiment on her corpse, I will have my scientists kill her quickly and painlessly.' _

She had been shocked by that discovery, she had always thought Praxis loved Ederra but she guessed she was wrong about this, just like she'd been wrong about so many other things concerning her father. She had tracked down the head scientist of that whole sick operation and he had sung like a canary. As it turned out, Praxis only married her mother for the eco abilities and not because he loved Ederra, when Ederra died he had planned to use her as the replacement. He had never gotten around to it because at the same time heh ad gotten word of a new channeler who would be able to handle the Darke Eco from his beloved right hand Errol.

"Emotions are useless Ashelin, toughen up or die," she muttered under her breath, she punched the wall once more and left the briefing room, she had soldiers to organize.

* * *

_**Daxter**_

_"Come on Dax, I'm right here just a little further."_

The Ottsel struggled to follow the voice of his best friend, if only he was a little faster he would be able to catch up to the voice and he wouldn't have to face any more pain.

"Wait up! Please, I'm right here!" He shouted fighting to reach the end of the path, branches whipped at his face, roots tripped him and he couldn't get to the voice as it faded away.

_'Sorry Dax, you're just too slow."_

With that the blond melted away and Daxter was thrown back into the cold embrace of reality, his best friend was gone, he was most likely gonna die soon and so was the City, whoopdi-frickin'-doo_._ He rolled over again, he hadn't slept properly for almost three weeks now, now he knew how Jak must've felt when he faced his insomnia.

He sighed and hopped out of the bed, he wandered over to the window and stared at the motionless water, Haven may have been a thriving metropolis but not many people were up and about at three in the morning. He scoffed, he had been awake at these hours for more almost three years, with or without Jak, it was still peaceful well except maybe when they had been hiding from KG or Metal Heads or Marauders or Dark Makers. He sighed again, good times, and that was just plain sad, to think the best times of his life for the last couple of years had been running for his life from people who wanted him dead just because he was there.

When he'd been looking for Jak he'd slept during the day mostly, bugs normally came out at night and he didn't want to be wasted when he would have to fight those things. It had taken two damn years to get into the Prison and then he had to wait two more god damned weeks before he could find the right cell block. Running around in that place had been a living nightmare for the small rodent, he never knew where he'd end up or if he'd be caught and all the while hoping and praying he wasn't too late to rescue Jak.

Well, he did find the big guy eventually but damn if it was good, the darke eco experiments had not been kind, jokes, that's what had helped then, try his best to deal and move on. Maybe that's what he should do now? Don't forget, never forget, but just laugh about it and try his best to make it past this tragedy and maybe it would work.

_'Yeah right, did that work for me? Guess not cause I'm dead ain't I?'_

The orange rat almost gave himself whiplash when his head snapped towards the door, the figure standing in the shadows was there but also not there, so weird but it was alive and it was talking to him.

_'If that crap actually worked wouldn't I still be here? No probably not, they might'a banished me again cause I'm so **'dangerous'** right? Right!'_

"No, that's not true, we need you, the first time, it was a mistake that crackpot Count Vulgar, we never gave up on you!" The Ottsel yelled back, but the figure laughed cruelly and just stared, as though asking if he believed that shit. Outside thunder cracked but no rain fell, lighting illuminated the streets bright as day but not one cloud rolled across the darke night sky, it was all starting to fall apart.

_'Not true? Then why did only a rat and a mangy ass parrot follow me into that god forsaken desert? Why was it that they only came back for me because they needed another soldier in their war? Why did I die with only a scrawny rat as the witness to my last great act for this damned City?'_

"You gotta understand, your friends never abandoned you, the council was too powerful to overthrow you know that, Ashelin risked her life to help you int he desert, everyone tried to stop Vegan!" Daxter reminded him. How could he forget the soldiers he'd fought side by side with? The many brave men he'd seen die at the hands of a common enemy?

_'They didn't try hard enough, if they really needed me as much as they would've they have sent more people to check out the reports? Wouldn't they've responded to the distress signal?'_

"The communicator was broken, we couldn't send for help you didn't go in to fix it when should've. If you weren't such of a big headed bastard maybe you'd still be here with us and I wouldn't be talking to some figment of my fucking imagination!" Daxter screamed launching a desk lamp at the silhouette. The lamp smashed against the wall but not before lighting up that obscure corner, as it turned out, it **_hadn't_** been something from his own mind, it was something real.

_'What do you do now rat? He's gone but I'm not. Should I kill you like I wanted to, or should I simply you poison you like the Wastelanders? Hmm, decisions, decisions.'_

The monster tapped a midnight black claw on its pale bleached chin, it had achieved its goal of getting him mad at Jak, what to do now? The Ottsel shuddered it would surely kill him now, that was the only thing this creature **_ever_** thought about, killing, killing and more killing, with the occasional thoughts of blood.

_'Nah, too much implications, besides, Light needs you alive for his little scheme, not that it'll work. I guess I'll see you soon ratty, I'll taste your blood another time. Mmm, I wonder how Precursor blood would taste...'_

With those last confusing and terrifying words, the creature disappeared, the next lighting flash revealed that he had left something to show he had been real and not a hallucination brought on by intense mental strain.

A single pure darke eco crystal stood on the floor in the shape of a broken and bleeding heart, it was so beautiful, yet so grotesque and hideous he was afraid to pick it up for fear of it jumping up and biting him._  
_

* * *

_**The Desert**_

The full moon rose over the waterlogged dunes, the two beings that had danced under it's last full glow had not been together since that fateful night, although, one had made his presence known in the most brutal way possible. The inhabitants of the desert now feared to leave the safety of their walls and as such the City was slowly dying of starvation.

Leapers ventured to their old grazing grounds, the food had been exhausted in the higher lands and now hunger had pushed them back to their homes. The plants were mostly dead but some still lived, healthy and edible, the creatures tore into the vegetation with ferocity they never knew they possessed, such was their hunger.

_"Late as usual, I really should get him a watch or something."_ the Angel mumbled appearing at the top of the Precursor temple, his wings were folded close to his back and one leg dangled over t he edge.

He gazed out at the Wastelands with solemn blue eyes, every grain of sand seemed unbalanced, he sighed, he hoped his plan would work for the sake of this planet.

The monks had all left the Temple save one, he remembered meeting her some months ago, the memory was slightly muddled as were many that were seen from the host's eyes. The woman, Seem?, she was very close to death that day, the Darke Makers had invaded the Creators Temple and they had needed to get to the Oracle. The aura of those creatures were similar to his corrupt twin, it was... unsettling, to think that something so evil could also be a part of him, not the most pleasant thing to say the least.

_"Finally, his probably stopped to hunt down some Marauders again." _The Angel muttered, on the opposite end of the enormous desert, the other being had appeared and was making not attempt to approach his brother.

The Angel sighed again and slid off the edge of the platform, sometimes when he was linked to his Host, he had wished to continue falling until he hit the ground and break into a million pieces. However, now that he was once again himself, such melodramatic thoughts had ceased to plague him and he unfurled his wings, using the strong ocean breezes, he glided over the land to his brother.

* * *

The Devil never could understand his better twin's need for peace in the world, personally he thought the world needed more chaos and destruction, the potential for bloodshed with these insignificant mortals was always there just under the surface. He sniffed the air delicately, then again, if they all died in one big fight, who would he play with after ward? No, this was he would always have pawns to carry on the game and he did love this game well.

**"Well Light, I didn't expect you to allow me such freedoms."** The Devil called lazily as the Angel landed gracefully next to him, he smiled maliciously at his twin, he knew how much Light hated his viscous tendencies.

_"I told you, you have free reign so long as you don't harm his friends."_ The Angel reminded him, he growled but said nothing, hey, this was the most fun he'd had in years.

Ever since he'd been bonded to that little shit, Jak, his full power had been restricted to what the brats body was physically capable of and that wasn't much, sure there had been a few good times, the bastard's death had been a relief. He was meant to be a creature of nightmares and horror, a Host always took that away and tried to control his very eco flow, that's why they always ended up dead. Let's see, the last Host had been a couple of wannabe Rulers, they had discovered him by accident of course and even then it was merely a severe case of poisoning. He had never been bonded so completely to a Host in his entire existence and frankly he hated it but he had respected his Host's power, the boy had been strong to suppress him for so many years.

**"So do you mind telling me what exactly you plan to do?"** The Devil asked absently rolling a ball of eco between his hands, it was always amusing to launch these at the local wildlife, they were vaporized instantly, the noises were the best.

_"Well for starters, we need the soul, the body is no problem."_ The Angel murmured snatching the glowing ball of eco from his hands, he snarled and had it explode in the Angel's face.

The Angel looked at him surprised for a few moments before lunging at the Devil, they rolled around the dirt, biting, punching and kicking anything they could reach. Darke lighting sparked off the bodies with increasing power, it arched ten feet in the air before striking the ground again, the sand began to heat up with the power, already small explosions were starting around them.

**"Light, you suck at fights, you always hold back." **The Devil growled frustrated, he pulled back and licked his claws cleaning off the accursed Light Eco, if he wasn't careful, it would start to melt his claws.

_"Brother, I only fight because you insist upon violence."_ The Angel explained brushing off the Darke Eco that clung to his wings, it hissed on the sand like a wild thing, yet another sign of its destructive nature.

**"Oh, Light, I should mention that his soul isn't where you think, it's in my domain. If you want to save him, you should reconsider the person you send for it." **The Devil suggested already making his way across the desert at a quick lope.

_"Darke, just remember the old King's warning, and please try to come on time next month."_ The Angel called as the Devil disappeared behind the dunes.

Light sighed, he had suspected the Host was with in his brother's home, now he really would have to send that one, he really hadn't wanted to but now he had no choice, he couldn't very well go _**himself**._

_"I'm really starting to hate the full moon."_ The Angel grumbled taking off towards the City, he needed to check up on something before Darke got there.

* * *

**DEF: Ah our Angel and Devil reappear to save them, lovely. Let's hope they can save those bastards in time though.**

_Vita: She's little pissed off, school tomorrow. Anyway, read and review, also any ideas as to what happens next? Maybe it'll appear in the plot._**  
**


	6. So, who are you again?

**DEF: Okay, so someone asked that the seriousness of the planet's destruction be emphasized so in this one the public has been made aware of the eco imbalance.**

_Vita: You know hell gonna break loose. Oh, we don't own Jak or Daxter, we do own the plot so steal that and we'll round up the rest of our crazy ass friends and hunt your asses down._

* * *

_**Haven City**_

"Citizens of Haven City, the eco imbalances are not to be feared, as I speak a plan is being implemented to save us all!" Ashelin assured them over the loud speaker. The throngs of people didn't seem too convinced as many stormed the Palace doors once more, word had leaked of the planet's limited, emphasis on limited, life span.

"As your ruler, I command you to calm down or we will use force!" Ashelin warned, she nodded to the Guard commander, he gave the word and warning shots were fired into the crowd. Under the rule of Baron Praxis the populace had suffered much worse but Ashelin was generally not one to piss off, where her father would throw you in jail, she would probably banish you to the Metal Head sector of the City.

"Now that you're all civilized again," Ashelin muttered over the loud speaker, "Our own Sage of green eco and our seer have come up with a plan to fix the eco imbalances." Well, technically, this was a lie, Samos and Onin were trying to come up with something but when the planet's fate was leaked she needed to address these bastards.

She was in a term, stalling for time, Onin had no idea what to do and Samos had a minor heart attack when he talked with the plants, the rocks weren't much better, all they said was 'death is coming'. You knew you were screwed when the friggen stones told you that you were dead. She had sent for Eco Monks but they had been held up by the unknown creature, no one dared cross the sands, not even to get to a carrier.

"Ashelin, Onin wants you back inside now," Torn called signaling for the guards to push back the throng, the Baroness had more pressing matters than these overreacting bastards. She nodded and followed him down a hidden passage that led under the Palace to the catacombs, Onin's tent had been moved down here. The tunnel been built to be used as a siege center, also so that they could monitor the Metal Heads from a safe distance, they were quite literally under enemy lines since the catacombs wound under the metal head section of the City.

"Awrk, lady Onin has searched the future and she says that we may not have to worry about the eco flow and all that stuff," Pecker trailed off not really bothering to translate properly, when the Boss lady started talking like that she generally repeated everything just in different words.

"Don't make me shoot you, what the hell does she mean we don't have to worry?" Ashelin growled raising her blaster to the hybrid's head, he squawked and backed into a display of eco crystals.

"I don't know awrk she just said that something extremely powerful is at work in the desert. Two eco beings or something, they can choose to save us or damn us, I don't know," Pecker squawked slipping in between a yakkow dung chair and a metal head skeleton. He hadn't survived for over a century by taking stupid risks, that was the rat's job and he sure as hell wasn't taking over for him.

"Well does she know how much time we have before the planet is ripped apart?" Ashelin demanded sending death glares at the thankfully blind elf, if looks could kill Onin would've died long ago.

"Could be six months, could be two, it's a very ify thing, best not to interfere, you just might speed up the process," Pecker explained waving a wing flippantly, he had lived a full life, death wasn't really something he was afraid of, a quick death at least. He had been Onin's interpreter for as long as he could remember and he could remember a lot, he had spent all his life being the mouth piece for a seer, not the best job but it had kept him safe. If he had lived in the wild he wouldn't have made it past his thirtieth year, Onin had brought him a lot of things but the one he was most grateful for was safety.

"Fine, but you are to keep me posted, if anything shifts I want to know about it," Ashelin conceded holstering her weapon, she would have to give an account of what was happening to the citizens, not a job she was looking forward to. She spit on the ground, she would have to think of a kiss ass lie to hide this shit, how had her father done it? He may have been a lying swine and all that but he had been a _**good **_lying swine, everyone in this damn City had believed him.

"How are we going to explain this one?" Torn asked leaning against an orange pillar, he'd known Ashelin a long time and if there was one thing he knew about her was that she knew how to hold out until help came, even if help was a century in coming.

"We aren't, we're going to lie through our teeth and pray to Mar this works," she muttered, a plan already forming in her head, they could say it was all a lie started by the Kg or that the threat was minor and everyone should go on with their normal day to day lives, anything but the truth.

Torn smirked, that was the Ashelin he knew, he spun his knife once and caught it by the hilt, this was going to be fuckin hard but at least it would be one hell of a ride while it lasted.

* * *

_**Spargus**_

"My liege, the Monks have detected mass eco movement in the desert, could this be the beginning?" Seem asked head bowed before her King, never in her life had she seen anything like this, frankly, it scared the shit out of her.

"I dunno know chilli pepper, but whatever's going on out there is probably worse," Sig muttered hefting his peacemaker, the welcome weight helped him calm his frayed nerves.

No one could go fifty feet into the desert without being massacred, already eco wells were running low and creatures that had long lain dormant were reappearing. For one, the giant squid had stopped attacking Spargus years ago but all of a sudden it was grabbing anyone who dared step on the sand, blood stained the waters as aquatic Metal Heads fought each other with renewed animosity.

The vicious reptilian birds had returned to their old hunting grounds and were flying off with citizens daily, scorpions that they had thought extinct had resurfaced around their one light eco vent effectively cutting it off. Sig himself had never seen the creatures, it was said that Mar had killed them all when he mined below the planet's surface. The mortality rate had raised from ten deaths a month to fifteen a day, and as though they didn't have enough shit to take care of Monks had detected this eco movement.

Ever since the night of the rains two months ago every thing had been thrown off, well not exactly, if you wanted to be politically correct, you could say that all this had started when Jak died so once again it was Haven's fault. Firstly, they'd thrown him in prison, injected him with darke eco and expected him to take it all with a smile, instead he'd taken out half their guard, made possible the death of their Leader and killed their worst, at the time, enemy. They should've been glad that after killing Kor he didn't turn on their sorry asses and attack them with the very same power they'd given him, instead they chose to banish him to 'certain' death. Secondly, when everything went to Hell, they expected him to help them and save their bastards hides, well they were lucky the Precursors had chosen well or they'd all be dead. After saving those jackasses a third time, the first time they didn't even know about, they sent him out to face hundred of Metal Heads alone with only a rat for backup, no wonder he was dead.

So let's see, they imprisoned him, he saved them, they threw him out, he saved them, they send him out to kill hundreds by himself, he died. When it was all lain out like that it made everything seem so much simpler than it really was but it all came back to one thing Haven folk were ungrateful bitches who deserved to rot in hell for longer than eternity.

"What do you mean sire?" Seem asked cautiously, she had spent her entire life learning about the flow of the eco and how to live in harmony with it but she always knew how dangerous it could be. She had seen monks warped by its darkness, those she had thought purest had become the worst of the creatures, even the creators had been tainted by its poison.

She never once thought the dark warrior she'd seen in the Arena that day would save them all and then when they least expected it destroy them all in one fell swoop and he didn't even need allies. Most of the darke ones banded together, there was safety in numbers but there was also death in those ranks, they were notorious for turning on each other. The beauty of the Hero taint was the simple fact that he was one of a kind, there was no one else to oppose his rule, certainly not they being the weak mortals they were.

He held the power than none before had dared harness, the earth shaking power that was no one's to control, only theirs to borrow and then return with many thanks even it had brought them death in the end. For what other price could one pay for such invernability?

She had seen people burn from the inside out in less than second for thinking to could control something older than time itself, the ally of the poison of their souls. Jak had been unique in a way they would never again meet, was it any wonder their world was tearing itself apart because of his death?

Was this why the Precursor's had wanted him to help them? Had they known this was the fate he would suffer if left among them?

All these questions and more flew around inside her head, making her want to fall to the ground and scream in terror but she was stronger than that, she was a Wastelander. She had been born in Haven, exiled with her mother because of their religion and finally found a home among the forgotten and unwanted. She had just as much right to be in their city as any of them, she truly was a Wastelander in every sense of the word.

That meant she stood her ground in the face of death and waited for it with a calm face while fighting like Hell for her life. So she would wait for the end and whatever happened, happened, it would catch her a coward and she would finally be with her creators evermore.

* * *

_**Haven Forest**_

"So, looks like this might be it huh," Samos murmured stroking his little bird, it fluttered nervously, it had been through much in its long life and this had to be the worst thing so far. Samos nodded, he knew how it felt, he was a man of many years and never had he though he would life to see the true destruction of the world.

Every time something had threatened their life Jak had been there to save them but this time he was the one who terrorized them, who wanted to kill them. At one time he would have said that the boy hadn't meant for any of it to happen but now he wasn't so sure what the boy would say. These last few years had been fraught with terror, darkness and pain, especially for the youth, he had sworn vengeance on the entire City, who was to say it hadn't widened to include the planet.

He had known of the beast that lurked beneath the surface, what was more, he had known before they had even returned to the City so many years ago. He had suspected that Jak blamed him for what had happened to him, as knowing would have helped anything, it had pained him to know the future but be unable to change it. If he had done anything differently than his future self had instructed while inside that cell, the entire timeline would be destroyed and by extension so would everything else.

That had been the price of knowing the future, never being able to change anything but always knowing it would end in death and pain. He had taken up the task because there was simply no one else who would fit the role as only he could. Sometimes when he had trouble falling asleep, he wondered how different his life would be if he hadn't been the Leader of the Underground, a mere soldier instead.

His life before the Underground had always been blurred, but now it was as if a veil had lifted and he was able to catch glimpses of his before life. He couldn't remember any family, only that he had been sitting in the forest one day when he was in his late teens. He didn't know why he'd gone there, only that there was a large Precursor column growing out of the water. He had been standing before an idol, in fact the very same idol that had presided in the slums and helped the bloodthirsty blond harness his power. It had spoken to him in the ancient language of the Precursors and he had understood clearly then but now he had no idea what it had told him.

"This is not the time for strange visions, I need to focus," The sage muttered to himself sitting upon a rock, he had to channel his power into talking to the rocks. He had long ago learned that the rocks were directly connected to everything in the planet, if you wanted information, you went to them. However, for the last few months they had only spoken of death and destruction, not surprising seeing as their final hour would soon be upon them. When he had been a young sage, he had spoken to the rocks asking them of their creators, they had said nothing only that they had forgotten. That had been a lie, rocks do not forget, they had simply been unable to give him the answers he sought, they did not have that liberty.

"Samos, my old friend, I feared I'd never see you again," a crippled old man wheezed, the man had to rely on a walking stick to stand and he had more wrinkles that a tree but the man exuded power the sage hadn't felt in a while. The stranger's hair was matted with filth, his clothes were no more than rags and his body seemed ready to give out but the man's eyes were a piercing white-blue. If pressed to compare the colour, the sage would say it resembled Light Eco in its purest form, that which lived with the Dark and stayed clean.

"I'm sorry, but I've never you before in this life," Samos replied apologetically clearing a space next under the great tree he'd planted in the past. The stranger sighed as he lowered himself to the forest's floor, bones creaking as they resettled.

"How could you not remember, we were such good friends, ah how could you forget?" The old man muttered to himself, Samos couldn't help but notice that the area around the tree had burst into life. The man's clothes grey rags seemed so much dirtier compared to the surrounding foliage but the power he felt, who was this stranger?

"Iyar, the wanderer, does that sound familiar?" The man asked his voice taking on a solemn tone, the kind that announced death as surely as the cry of the crow.

"We have met, we were friends, years upon years ago but you know me by another name don't you?" The man questioned ruthlessly his skin began to glow and with each word the power around them increased.

"I was there when they decided to create you, appointed you the task of raising the child, you swore on your life so where were you when he needed you most old sage?"

The light that the old man gave off grew until Samos was blinded by the brightness, until something in his mind broke through his mind like a tidal wave, memories swept him away.

* * *

"_Are you sure this one is worthy, you can never trust these mortal creatures," the light being murmured sitting on a throne of carved glass. There were four other thrones surrounding a huge table, each held a being like the one on the glass or maybe it was ice. There was a being of red sitting on a seat of what could only be lava solidified but still alive enough to give off blistering heat. Another sat upon a chair of lightening, this one seemed to have the hardest time keeping still, each second he was shifting position. Yet another possessed a seat of the sun's captured rays, soft yet powerful and hot but not as much as the lava throne. There was a being that had all but shrunken into its seat of jungle foliage; exotic flowers that had never touched the soil of this planet wound their way into a seat._

**"**_**Why brother, I thought you were the one who most loved those humans,"** a dark creature commented sauntering up to the assembly, he seemed to be made of all the beings yet at the same time was apart. He held light and darkness, speed but had control, power that could be used at the slightest insistence; he was by far more powerful than all except the light being._

"_Brother what business do you have here?" the light being questioned harshly, already the others had moved away, they knew their place and it was __**not **__between those two._

**"**_**I will be tied to the mortal this one protects will I not? How could this not interest me, you've tried time after time and it has always failed, it will be amusing to see you fall short once again,"** the dark being rasped. _

"_I assure you brother, this time it will work, I have learned the cause of our failure," the light being replied in clipped tones, as half the room darkened whilst the other half brightened._

* * *

"My name is Iyar, watch for me sage and do not forget this time," the old man, Iyar, warned getting to his feet still using the cane to hobble away. Samos watched until the frail figure was gone before collapsing onto the soft earth, he didn't know what the Hell that had been but he knew one thing, it was going to happen again. He breathed deeply as twilight settled over the forest, wondering who Iyar really was; it couldn't be a Precursor they would've shown their true self, could it have been, no never.

It could never be the one person whom he'd given up on.

* * *

_**Naughty Ottsel**_

Tess was always a background person, you never really forgot her but you never really remembered her either, the only one who ever paid her that much attention was Daxter. At first, the little orange rat had creeped her out but then he started talking to her and she finally got to open up to some one. She could tell him about her parents dying in a Metal Head raid, about her sister that had been a part of the guard, it was her death the made Tess join the Underground in the first place. She never had to worry about what she said around him and before she even realized it she was in love with him. It wasn't as though one day she woke up and it hit her, it was subtle, creeping up on you like cancer, you never knew about it until it was too late.

She sighed wiping down the bar, after the war Torn had moved out all his weapons and maps so they could regain their former popularity. Business was better than ever mainly because the Metal Heads as well as the KG were gone, that made people want to party and everybody knew the best place for a party was the Naughty Ottsel. Already the bar was fulling up with the usual crush of bodies, her new Ottsel form made it harder to control the occupants during a fight but the peacemaker she kept under the bar, always close at hand made it easier.

She flipped some blond hair out of her eyes as scanned the crowd, she knew almost everyone in Haven by now because of her job as bartender. So she spotted the new comer immediately, the girl was strange, even by Haven standards which were already rock bottom.

The girl couldn't be more than eighteen yet she had a look of timelessness, her colouring was odd for this part of the world, dark hair was common but not that type of dark. It was as though she had captured the exact colour of Darke Eco and painted it into her hair, one second it would be purple another blue and the other black. Her eyes were another matter altogether, no one had eyes like that, so midnight black that was dark purple or was so purple that it was black?

The colour alone wasn't unsettling, the way her eyes reflected light like a hunting cat's, it was unsettling to watch. The girl moved with an otherworldly grace, making her way through the throng of people without seeming to touch anyone. She settled onto a bar stool, smirking at Tess as though they were sharing a secret.

"Who are you, I've never seen you around here before," the blond stated bluntly wondering if she should start charging the peacemaker. The girl wasn't exactly threatening in any way, she was delicate like a flower but somehow intimidating at the same time. Her skin was pale but not sickly so, it was beautiful in its own way, just like her angular features and tilted eyes.

"Why Tessie, how could you forget me? I know it's been a while but not that long," the girl rebuffed her shaking out her multi coloured hair. Her eyes narrowed as Tess started to charge the gun, but it wasn't as if the girl could know, the gun was built to be undetectable, giving off only slight radiation.

"You might want to put that gun away Tessie, someone could get hurt," the girl warned smiling enough to show her teeth. Tess gasped and flinched at the sight, the girl's canines were an inch long and stained a dark crimson, as though she'd been drinking wine mixed with blood.

"Who are you?" Tess asked with something like reverence in her voice, she had no idea who this person was but she sure as Hell knew the girl was not human.

"Hmm, well you can call me Desdemona, yes Desdemona shall work just fine," the girl decided smiling again letting the bar's lights reflect off her teeth creating brilliant flashes of colour on the countertop. Tess nodded wiping down the bar for the fifth time that night, she wasn't sure if she would even survive the rest of the conversation but at least she'd had a good life.

"So Tessie, how's life been without me? I see you met those good for nothing Precursors," Desdemona commented taking a sip from a strange discoloured glass. Tess blinked; no one knew about the Precursors, they had all agreed to keep it a secret for fear of mass panic. After all, how would the populous react to knowing that their Gods of sorts were actually two foot tall orange rats?

"How do you know about that?" She questioned softly, for some reason she couldn't manager to speak above a whisper. Desdemona, that name though, it was as familiar as it was unusual, where had she heard it before?

"Does it really matter? I mean, you are all going to die anyway, so what's the point if some stranger knows the secret," Desdemona pondered flashing another unsettling smile.

Really, what did it matter when you thought about it? If the world was really going to split like Onin had predicted what was the point of keeping secrets? She shook herself mentally, what the fuck? She was like this at all, she knew where her loyalties lay and why she kept the secret in the first place, what was wrong with her.

She glanced at the mirror behind her, during the war it had been broken but somehow when the bar reopened it was fixed and no one knew how. She remembered back in the days when she worked for Krew how it used to reflect the strangest things, she'd always thought it was a trick mirror but now. For instance, when she first looked at it, she saw a long haired blond with grey eyes staring back at her, clothes soaked with blood. Daxter had told her he'd seen a little boy with orange hair and buck teeth, the body he had before the accidental dip in darke eco. Sometimes it showed you other people, like tonight and one other night she'd worked, the first time she'd seen the hero's other self.

There had been a nasty storm over the city, bad night for business, even Krew had left through a passage in the back of the bar leaving her alone to mind the place. She had been getting ready to leave herself when he crawled over the threshold; she never knew where Daxter had been. He had been soaked to the bone and shivering but not from cold, no that had been from blood loss, if pressed she'd guessed he'd lost about four pints already. He never gave any indication of knowing she'd been there, he'd just collapsed on the floor and stayed there 'til morning. She hadn't dared to move, she'd seen the monster in the mirror before he fell to the ground, not unconscious not asleep just resting. The horns, the fangs, all night she stayed rooted to the spot while the storm raged overhead, when the clock read six he got up and left as though nothing were wrong. The next day the Metal Heads broke through the security walls and all Hell broke loose.

Desdemona nodded to her in the mirror before leaving, all around her people fell to the floor, when she walked through the door they all rose again as though she'd never been there. Tess didn't turn around until six the next morning, her gaze fixed on the door. She'd seen the horns, the fangs, again, only this time the blood wasn't the Devil's, it was hers.

* * *

Iyar- Meaning: Light

Desdemona-Meaning: Of the Devil.

* * *

**DEF: Alright another chapter down, finally, sorry it took so long, school is a bitch. So who are Iyar and Desdemona? Well the meanings of the names should give it away and if you still don't get it then I suggest some serious help.**

_Vita: Anyways read and review or Desdemona will kill you in your sleep._


	7. One big happy family, yeah right!

**DEF: Thanks for all the lovely reviews, you're the best! So did anyone guess who Iyar and Desdemona are yet? **

_Vita: We don't own Jak or Daxter, we do however own the plot, Iyar, Desdemona and a notebook so ha! In your face!_

* * *

**_Spargus_**

Another full moon rose over the tranquil waters, for the first time in years, the City of the damned was still and they were free to move about under the cover of darkness. The wastelands had been flooded for more then two months and now the waters had receded; back they went into the ocean's open arms.

A young man stood on the small stretch of beach, platinum blond hair, the closest he could get to the original colour, and soft white-blue orbs. There were none to see him here but he couldn't run the risk of having any observe him, the power alone would kill them. The desert was not the place chosen this month, instead they had been given the City, not a good sign. They were powerful immortals yes, but they too had their restrictions, one being only certain places and times were allotted to their meetings. The amount of power they each possessed was enormous; they could only meet at places where that power could run off into vents or some such.

Iyar could remember another time, another planet where they hadn't followed the rules, the build up of power had been so much that fire had fallen from the sky and the sea had risen up to reclaim the land. There had been much death and it had pained him to feel the loss of so many lives, his brother, however, had been overjoyed at results. After that disaster, the Precursors had decided that there had to be something to regulate the power build up, which led to the creation of their new family.

The process had been very strange, small amounts of power had been taken from both of them, their different personalities had been given shape and form. Hinto, the first new being, his speed, but Hinto was incomplete, he had no control over himself and could never stay still for too long. Kadir, his power to heal, but again the new being was not as powerful as he was; however, the new being could connect directly to the wild life of the planet. Akako, his brother's power but much slower, a subtle type of being and their first sister, she was the first to disappear into the new planet's life force. Zanthe, Akako's twin and his brother's power, quicker but not as potent, she was one the first one to live with the mortals.

All four of them, Hinto, Kadir, Akako and Zanthe, were given their own eco to control and sent to help the mortals. Darke had protested this choice but finally agreed, Iyar supposed it was because he found the loophole in the Precursor's plan. The being's that were created of his eco would be loyal to him and him alone, not the smartest move seeing as Akako and Zanthe were the strongest of the four. In a fight between the six of them, he was sure his brother and sisters would probably win.

He sighed and stared out over the wide expanse of water, stygian darkness so still is was though you could walk on it. Well, **_he_** could at least, his host had never learned enough control to be able to, in fact that too was probably because of his brother. The first few years of being bonded to only one of them had given him a taste for recklessness and vengeance which could've been avoided. Iyar had counted on the years of learning about the eco flows and his own channeling abilities to suppress the bloodlust but he had been wrong. Their host had been corrupted by his brother's poison, even his own temperament had been affected during the short time spent sharing the same body with his brother. He wondered sometimes if life would have been different if the Precursors had given them each a planet to rule. He was sure his own would be a lush and fertile place, a true Haven to its people but his brother's, it would make the Dark Makers seem like an annoying virus easily dealt with. The poison that would infect the planet, life would be destroyed or mutated into horrible creatures.

"Dearest Brother, don't you look handsome?" His eyes narrowed at the voice, it was not one he knew but how could he forget it? The tone and pitch had been changed to fit the female body his brother now wore but the rasping and barely suppressed growls were still there.

"Darke, how nice of you to show up on time," Iyar commented turning to face the woman before him, his brother was always too flamboyant, especially around the full moon.

"Desdemona brother," he corrected flashing inch long ivories, he had reverted to the name he preferred the most among all others, it meant form the devil.

"As usual Light you've chosen a rather drab body, when will you learn, the best way to cooperate with these mortals is to appeal to the eyes?" He asked twirling a strand of hair between his claws.

"Iyar and unlike you, I prefer to be more subtle in my approach Desdemona, you don't always have to manipulate them you know," he murmured taking his 'sister' by the hand. He scoffed, he gone with **_that _**name again? How dull, it was the exact translation of his name, Light, he was willing to bet there wasn't a single creative bone I his brother's body.

"Aw, that's no fun Iyar, the best part about this is fucking with their minds," Darke growled starting the dance, he never did know why they did this. It had started an eternity ago, when they danced their eco flows were in tune and in turn the planet's eco flow was in balance.

He smirked at his brother's latest form, tall, blond, handsome; 'Iyar' would attract attention wherever he went but Light never cared for such things. There could be dozens of women pursuing him but Light never cared, he always put the good of others above himself. He glanced at the spiraling silver band his brother wore, it was so pure and unadorned, it reflected the moon's rays perfectly. His own band, however, had long since been stained with the blood of the innocent and set with eco crystals, a work of beauty if he did say so himself.

"So brother, have you found a way of saving his pitiful soul?" He asked conversationally as they waltzed onto the water. He breathed deeply, absorbing the power those waters held, his was the force that dominated the ocean, its power belonged to him. His brother had tired time and again to win it from him but in a fight there was no competition, Light never tried.

"Why Desdemona, I didn't think you cared for him," Iyar remarked pulling away from her, they stood mere feet apart but each couldn't help but notice how different they both were.

"Never in this life Iyar, but I like being up-to-date with these things," she replied carelessly, her brother cocked an eyebrow but nodded.

"He can be saved, that much I know, but how is still undetermined, unless you go for him yourself," Light suggested in his calm way, if you looked at it in a different light you might even call it deception.

"In your dreams Iyar, now if you'll excuse me, the night grows old and I want to stir up some chaos in the City, until next moon dearest brother," Desdemona called walking off towards Haven. Iyar ran a hand through his hair, he would deal with the damage tomorrow, tonight he would visit their host's old home.

He sighed and began running flat out across the water as the moon reached its apex, never did he think to look back at the monk who stood watching.

* * *

**_South Town-midnight_**

The moon rose above the security walls to shine down into the dead waters of the Port, the witching hour yet many were still very much out and about. Any who could spare time were currently crammed into the Naughty Ottsel to celebrate the three year anniversary of the defeat of the Metal Head Leader Kor. It didn't matter that the Baroness had confirmed the end of the world, this had happened too many times before, the citizens were use to it. They chose to celebrate because of this, they knew better than most how short and cruel life could be and they jumped at any opportunity to rejoice in life.

"Come on Dax, you should already be pissin' drunk," Torn advised taking a huge swig out of a steaming mug, he winced slightly at the burning sensation but it was worth it for the cloudiness that instantly took over his mind. He should be at the HQ, sorting out paperwork, organizing strategies to confront the remaining Metal Heads and KG but he just couldn't bring himself to leave. He sighed, he deserved a break after all, a man could crack under the pressure and he had past that point. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten much less slept, took another gulp of the lurker brew.

"Yeah, yeah, I should be a lot of things Torn, but drunk ain't one of them," Daxter muttered clutching the crystal tightly. He didn't know why he'd put it on a chain, or even why he kept it, he just knew that it made him feel better, less depressed and suicidal.

He'd thought about the creature that had visited him last month and every time he just saw his best friend in his monstrous form but it wasn't him. He had seen the beast his friend became for almost a year and the being that visited him that night was not Jak. Sure it had the same characteristics but whereas Jak had been restrained, the creature's violence and bloodlust was kept on the surface. The purity of the hate, the insanity, he knew nothing sane could control that type of power; then again, Jak had never been sane.

Even before the eco experiments, in the years before the warp gate, there was always something slightly off about his best friend, something unnatural. They could be playing on the beach, chains seagulls when those baby blues would just cloud over and the blond would sit and stare into the distance for hours drawing strange symbols in the sand or dirt. When the blond was done, there would be entire stories covering the sand, Samos always had them wash the things away, come to think of it, they'd been the exact same ones carved into the catacomb tunnels.

"Seem? What're you doing here?" The gruff voice of the City's commander asked, Daxter looked up form the table, Seem never came to Haven, never.

"I have business here with Daxter, if you would be so kind as to provide us with some privacy," she murmured in her slow rasping tones.

"Yeah sure," Torn replied uncertainly getting to his feet and disappearing into the crowd; he decided it was just as well, Seem could probably help Daxter with the emotional trauma.

"Seem, you never leave the Wasteland," Daxter commented dryly sipping his smoking drink, he flinched at the sting but it was a welcome pain. The monk shook her head, she didn't partake in becoming intoxicated but she could see the need for this escape, especially with the knowledge of the planet's impending destruction. Then again, Daxter had faced this truth three times too many in his life and had faced it with bravery, only this time he was alone in the fight

"This is true, but what I have to say may save us all," she muttered staring at the dancers, the flashing lights, how easy it was to lose oneself in the celebration. When she was young and learning the ways of the Precursors, her mother had explained the rules of becoming a monk. They would always be on the outside, in a society like theirs, people feared and hated that which they couldn't understand. At the time, Seem had promised herself that she would never be that ignorant since she knew what it felt like being considered a freak show. Looking back on her first few months of knowing the Hero, she realized that she had broken that vow and she felt the worse now because of what she had to say.

"Have you ever heard of the Eco guardians?" She asked, she noted the way the orange animals eyes glazed over as though remembering something long forgotten.

"Been a while since I talked about them, the Sages supposed to be their voice or something right?" He confirmed swallowing as though he were fighting tears.

"Yes, each type of eco has a being which controls it, the Sages try to help the planet by communicating with these beings, however faint the connection might be. Ancient stories were passed down from parent to child depicting these beings, the things they'd done to help further humanity. The oldest tales say that in the beginning there were only two and the rest came from different aspects of these two." Seem murmured translating the words she'd seen on the scrolls from language of the Precursors, a much purer form of their own. Numerous studies had been done on the runes unearthed in the catacombs, precious few could translate the ancient dialect, and as yet none had been found who could speak the tongue, it was truly a dead language.

"Let's see if I remember right, the names are Hinto, Kadir, Akako, Zanthe, Iyar and Desdemona, blue, green, red, yellow, light and darke eco. Akako and Zanthe are supposed to be twins girls and Hinto and Kadir are the brothers who're here just to have a balance or something. Iyar and Desdemona have been fighting for all eternity, only they can't kill each other 'cause they're pure energy and they don't even have enough time either, they can only meet at a certain time," Daxter reeled off as though it had been pounded into his head.

"How could you possibly know all that? The scriptures don't even mention the names much less their gender!" Seem exclaimed, how in Mar's name could he have known all that?

"Back in Sand Over Jak used to write these stories in the sand, one day I decided to learn the language so I could read 'em, I was really bored. Turned out they were all about there beings who helped the worlds and the never ending fight between the primordial two. Even the Precursors couldn't control them, Iyar was obedient but Desdemona was worse than a stubborn yakkow, she/he wouldn't ever listen. I always thought they were just stories but whatever," Daxter finished shrugging noncommittally.

"Wait, the H-Jak used to write in the lost tongue? And what did you mean she/he?" Seem demanded fixing her intense red-eyed gaze on the orange animal.

"I dunno nothing bout no lost tongue but back in Sand Over we could learn if we wanted to, the older folk knew it mostly, Samos knows better than I do though. The he/she thing was a little weird though, it was like the Light and Darke beings could change shape whenever they wanted, but the rest of 'em couldn't though," he explained, in his mind's eye he could clearly see those images written in the sand all over again.

"Daxter, those 'stories' were true, are true, I saw two of those beings tonight and I don't think things are going according to their plan, something is wrong," she confided. He nodded solemnly, he knew all too well how it felt when the ground under your feet had disappeared and you had to figure out how to land in five seconds flat or be broken into a million pieces. Only because he knew how it felt did he allow her to reach across the table and knock back not one but two shots of vodka. Only because he knew did he turn a blind eye when she disappeared, weaving and swaying as she went, because he knew.

* * *

**_The Palace-3:00 am_**

The City was celebrating but that still didn't account for the fires lit on the rooftops or the sound of gunshots that pierced the silence. The guards had dealt with raging Metal Head hordes but never had they dealt with the people of Haven, the very ones they gave their lives to protect. The old KG would've right at home with this though, they had held back mad mobs almost everyday of the week back when Praxis ruled. The new guard was hopelessly unqualified to face this, they knew how to handle stun guns but not tear gas, delivering blows to kill not to render unconscious.

The mob had stormed the palace during the witching hour, when all that was evil was free to roam the land, none should be awake at this cursed hour. Yet almost the entire City was fully conscious and pissed off, whether it be the citizens or the guards, the anger and hate was a tangible thing. The people of the City blamed the Baroness for the destruction of their planet once more, some how they had learned that the death of their sometimes Hero had caused this all and that she had sent him out to be killed. The guards were pissed because they didn't like being awake at some Precursor forsaken hour fighting an enemy they couldn't kill.

_"She had a corpse under her bed, she had her fun but now he's dead."_

A single form was not covered in blood, the figure didn't even seem occupied with the chaos in the streets around it, not even when a blaster almost took off half its head. Oddly enough, the blast seemed to slow down and was deflected into a street vendor's empty stall, not only did death seem to skirt around the figure, citizens and guards alike seemed not to notice.

_"Her momma said come feed desire, her brother said, 'Hey! Throw it on the fire!'"_

A shabby old tent in the corner next to what had once been the Palace, the power practically radiated from the tent, could he be here? The form shrugged, what did she have to loose if she just peaked inside?

The inside was almost filthier than the outside, every free space was occupied by some oddity, all objects used to enhance the bearers eco flow so it wasn't until her third glance did she see the girl. Raven wing hair, pale skin, full black eyes, good grief! She even had inch long fangs and short, stubby horns, not much for subtly her brother.

"Brother? Why have you summoned me?" The voice was slow and melodic, like that of a calm brook running over the desert sands. The girl tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder, the red head cocked an eyebrow at the motion, Darke always went over board with these excursions.

"Dearest sister, you know how much I value your company," another female voice replied in coy, sarcastic tones like the purr of a cat to its dinner. The redhead rolled her flame coloured eyes, her brother was melodramatic to the point of exhaustion.

"Of course you do Darke, now what do you really want?" She asked folding her hands over her chest, she had things to do, regulation of the world's volcanoes, making sure that pitiful little City wasn't covered by lava.

"You wound me Akako, really you do, can't a brother request to see his sister simply because he misses her?" The 'girl' asked her voice returning to its previous deep tone.

"Nashi, not when you're the brother, now what do you want? Zanthe was supposed to meet me tonight, I don't want to be late," Akako explained flicking her hand so flames sprang up in the cold hearth. The flames danced happily throwing light on a myriad collection of skeletons, she was sure some were quite recent despite the outwards appearance of age.

"Ah yes, how is Zanzan? You two are safe out in the desert I presume, the flood hasn't affected your eco pools," Darke stated, his tone of voice changing it into a question.

"Aniyo, they're safe but my volcanoes are on the verge of erupting, I don't understand why, they were nearly dormant but a year ago," she murmured tucking crimson locks behind her ear.

"He didn't tell you? I thought he would've told everyone by now, I suppose though **_I _**should tell you, after all you are entitled to know the truth," Darke mumbled inspecting a jar of what looked suspiciously like blood.

"Tell me what brother? Did you do something to throw off the balance?" She accused, her panic caused the flames to roar to sic feet, just a few inches short of the tent's ceiling.

"Calm yourself Aka, you know very well I'm forbidden, no the little bitch went and got himself killed trying to destroy those pathetic Metal Heads. Sad really, a little poison injected straight to the heart and he kicked the bucket in a less than fifteen minutes, wish I'd have thought of it before thought, could've saved myself three years of being bonded to him." Darke muttered opening the jar and upending the contents into his mouth, some ran down the sides of his neck giving the form he chose a gory new look.

"Is that why Light is so unsettled? I saw him not to long ago heading towards that place, Ghost Town, Dead Ville, something like that, using a new body," Akako explained staring into the heart of her flames. Her power came form them, their power came from her but they both needed the being with the red maw, with out him all was lost.

"I guess, I really could careless, but we have a deal and I can't interfere until he fails so let him tear it up for all I care. Let him have some fun before this place goes to hell." He stopped off abruptly, head cocked to the side as though listening to something.

"Fuck, you should probably go now Aka, the riots are getting a little too peaceful, I think I'll go rile them up some more," Darke explained getting to his feet.

"As you wish brother," she muttered turning her back on the woman behind her that would most likely kill this world.

"Give my regards to Zanthe won't you? None of this could be possible without her firepower!" The dark haired girl called running out into the crowd at full speed.

To the mortals it would seem as though the person next to him was shoving or trying to take off his head with a blaster, Akako knew better, it was Darke attacking the crowds. Her brother was indeed strange but she could understand his need for chaos for a world solely conducted with peace was lame.

_"This is the house, come on in. this is the house, built on sin. This is the house nobody lives. This is the house you get what you give"_

Behind her the City blazed, she had the fires climb higher until they were visible in the desert, her sister would like the display. She grinned as screams filled the air, she might not have his thirst for blood but she and her brother were frighteningly similar, they had both been created by blood, pain and death.

* * *

**DEF: Well that was fun to write, I love writing about angst and death, so much fun.**

_Vita: And you'd never think it looking at her, any way read and review. And who do you think should go to get Jak's soul? Living, dead, the eco beings anyone is eligible!_** So vote now!  
**


	8. Back up someone please explain this shit

**DEF: Wow, I can't believe I actually got this far, I was really going to leave it as a one shot but my reviewers forced me, here's chapter seven.**

_Vita: We do in fact own Jak and Daxter, the plushies we bought last week of Light and Dax, Darke wasn't there but we're going back to get him._

* * *

**_Dead Town_**

The name the mortals had given this place fit it well, at least this was one thing their warped sense of humor had not touched. He stood in the old hut of the Green Sage, all around him the silence pressed in like a physical thing, constricting.

He felt the presence of things that were_ **other**_, the disease of his brother but also a sickness in the land itself, it was as though the earth had absorbed the hatred and death that had happened here. In all the planets before there had never been a feeling of such degree, the very soil was screaming at him for a release which he was incapable of providing.

He gazed dispassionately at the broken supports that had helped hold the artifact that had brought on all this destruction and death, the warp gate. He had always pondered choice was it wise to allow the very creatures that would one day drive them into hiding exist in this time loop? He was the voice of reason, the one who advised the creators, he had argued against it but as always he was not forceful enough to overrule them.

_'Could I have prevented this I had tried harder?'_

He wondered stroking the blackened walls sadly, he was the embodiment of pure power yet there were things even he could not stop. He who had control over time and life could not stand up for what he believed in. Maybe his brother was right, maybe Darke was truly justified in opposing their creators. The sweet irony of it was though, his brother would never turn down the opportunity for blood shed, Darke was the vengeful side of the mind, his opposite. In this world there had to be a balance, he was the one who harbored worry, kindness, sadness, sorrow, but his brother was on the other end of the spectrum. Lust, anger, fear, disorder, chaos wherever they were his brother was not far behind always trying to worsen the situation with subtle prompts or prods, a whisper on the wind.

At this very moment, Desdemona was stoking the frenzied mob to bloodshed and death, Iyar was not allowed to stop her no matter how much he wanted to, that was a part of the agreement. So long as his brother left the important players alone, the pawns were his to do with as he pleased, it was one of the reasons the rat was still alive.

Iyar ran a hand through platinum blond locks; **_this _**was why they two were always bonded to an unfortunate host. If Darke were allowed these freedoms all the time the world would drown in corruption, crime and blood as it was now. While bonded with a mortal, their power was chained to the capabilities of the body which was most of the time not much. Jak had been special, he was capable of so much more than all their hosts so far, Darke had still been kept on a short leash because of the boy's surprising resistant will. It was not often the boy slipped in his control, oh, of course it **_appeared _**as though he had but in reality he had **_allowed _**the power to leak to the surface. He was a smart little bastard, he knew how impatient Darke was and he used that to his advantage most of the time, also sometimes he just needed a release of all the pent up aggression. When they had been fighting Kor, the boy had released Darke in time to avoid being killed by the power surge the Metal Head had released; his brother had absorbed the eco and happily helped kill the Metal Head Leader.

Darke had been very angry after that fiasco; he did not like being treated as though he was some pet dog who could be controlled so easily, made to do tricks at the slightest insistence. He had been watching that time, ready to intervene if his brother showed any signs of wanting to kill their host, it had happened in the past, too many times. The internal fight was something he'd only learned after the fact for at the time he was not yet reintroduced to the host's fragile eco balance.

Iyar flinched slightly at the deaths; he could literally feel the pain as their lives blinked out of existence so much death and all for what? If he tried to prevent these deaths, the imminent destruction of the entire planet would be his fault and only his. He had to return the soul to the body before that happened but he could not go there, it was one of their only laws, neither being could encroach on the other's territory, the new brothers and sister could however but only two would listen to him and those two were no where near powerful enough.

Their territories were an interesting concept, all the lives of a planet were linked to their eco whether it be dark or light, however, after death, half the souls went to his brother and the other half came to him. The decision of who got what was decided by the amount of good or bad the person had committed, the ironic twist though was that Darke got the good souls and Light the bad. The creator's had no control over that, it was one of the ancient laws of the universe, for if they had the choice; good went to good bad to worse.

He supposed he could understand the justification though; each soul received affected the temperament of the being in particular. The darkness of a mortal's soul was ineffectual against his peace; however, if given to his brother, the soul would feed Darke's blood lust until the breaking point.

"Why are you so sad big brother?" a soft childish voice asked, Iyar turned tiredly to his little sister, Zanthe, the being of yellow eco.

"Zanthe, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Akako in the desert," he muttered gazing sadly at the polluted water, it had been eerie crossing it as though something were waiting to snatch him. He shook his head, there was nothing that could truly harm him on this planet but for his brother, he always had to remind himself that. He had lived on many planets before this one but this had to be the most corrupted he had ever seen.

"Aka left to visit Darke, I was bored and I saw you coming here, play with me big brother," she begged tugging his hand, he had forgotten how childish Zanthe was, he often wondered where the hell **_that _**aspect of Darke had been hiding.

"I can't right now Zanthe, I have to find someone before this planet dies," he murmured noting the subtle changes in Zanthe since the last time he'd seen her. Her dirty blond hair was longer now, it reached to her ankles and was braided to resemble a crown on her head, her once baby like features had become fine and elfen. She was the twin to Akako but they looked nothing alike, where there was suppressed violence in Akako, there was a peaceful innocence in her twin. He sometimes wondered if there had been some kind of mix up between Hinto an Zanthe, the latter was much more like him than his brother.

"Can I help brother?" Zanthe offered twirling yellow eco around her fingers, she giggled as the creatures in the water came to the surface to see. He watched with slight interest as the eco fell from her fingers to the waters below but instead of sinking, it skipped across the surface until it found dry land. Yellow eco didn't exist in the water, it was like the sun's rays, it needed land to truly be, the water would kill it.

"Zanthe, I will never understand the way your mind works, are you not tied to our brother?" He said letting his own eco drip into the water, it was the strangest thing to watch as the waters were illuminated with the otherworldly light.

"Mhmmm, but that doesn't mean I can't help you big brother, I like you better any way, Darke just likes to use my eco to kill those things, the mortals," she pouted sitting back on her heels.

"He doesn't like to play with me and when he does, we just go into the city and shoot things, Hinto is too fast for me to catch and Kadir is so hard to find, he's always hiding in the plants," she complained propping her chin on her knees. Her large yellow eyes were sad, she was too gentle for his brother's violence but he could not take her as his own because it simply wasn't possible.

"Light, why is there a boy in the hut?" She asked absently waving at one of the missing windows behind him; he turned slowly wondering if maybe Kadir had decided to pay them a visit as well.

He focused on the darkness and caught a glimpse of blond; sun yellowed not a true colour and bright turquoise blue, he let eco seep into his hand and he tossed lightly, it sailed in through the gap neatly. The soft glow lit up the dark hut and revealed a young boy, maybe fifteen at a glance, dressed in a sleeveless blue shirt and khaki pants, the boy look surprised.

"Hello, who are you?" Zanthe called waving to him, the boy cocked his head to the side in confusion but didn't move to run.

"My name is Zanthe, what's yours?" She offered extending her hand to the boy, he smiled nervously but still he reached for her hand. What happened next was confusing to watch, it was as though a double image had appeared, the real over the illusion. Zanthe's hand passed right through the boy's, he could see the boy but the boy was transparent, it was strange. It was what a mortal would see if an eco being wished to remain hidden in their presence, close enough to touch but unseen to any and all.

The boy looked down at his hand in shock, his mouth fell open and he drew breath to speak but then he really was gone and all that was left was the empty hut.

"Light, what just happened?" Zanthe whispered staring at her hand, it glowed faintly as her emotions rose to the surface, she would need to go calm down somewhere before she had a meltdown.

"I don't know Zanthe, why don't you go run around in the desert for a while, Akako should be there, you can play with her," he suggested waving his hand for the ball of eco, it flew to him without a second's hesitation.

"Okay brother," Zanthe murmured still staring at her hand, she grew blindingly bright and disappeared, well not really disappeared but gone nonetheless. He cast baleful eyes on the glowing orb of white, the rain clouds were gathering again on the horizon, time was running out at alarming rate. He glanced around the dark hut once more before setting off for his next destination, the burial place of Mar.

* * *

**_Metal Head Sector_**

The metal heads, although almost beaten, were still a formidable threat to the City and were treated as such but for the unfortunate 'accidents'. None dared to venture through the poison infested section of the City without heavy duty poison masks, containers of green eco and a dozen or so guards.

A lone figure was crossing the distance from the new nest of sorts to the City with surprising speed, the figure was slightly blurred but it was known the person was male. A streak of blue eco collected on the soil where the figure tread, the metal heads were lightening fast creatures able to deliver death in less time than it took their victim to call for help but the person was too quick for even those beasts.

Behind him the storm was borne on a violent wind, the shrieking of the gale resembled that of the damned suffering in Hell and many thought that was exactly what it was. The guards, preoccupied by the riots, stared dumbstruck as the eco which powered their more powerful weapons was ripped out of the ammunition. Underground stores of blue eco were dragged to the surface of the planet and erupted with force befitting volcanoes; such was the power of the being.

The perpetual breeze than flew through Haven forest died down for the first time in eons, the one who presided there for an eternity knew what was coming and it was not good. The being paced nervously on the damp grass, every so often its tail would swish or spasm, it had been centauries since the brothers had met. This would not be a peaceful meeting, at best only a section of his forest would die, at worst he would lose it all.

He briefly wondered if he should just disappear once more, he was good at hiding none but Light could ever find him. No if he did that then his home was sure to be destroyed, there weren't many places he could live peacefully anyway, everything else was either too tainted by Dark eco or too small. He sighed, remembering a time in the recent past when the entire planet was covered by lush vibrant forests; he could live anywhere he wished without fear of contamination. He was so into the planet's eco system that when the metal creatures came through the gate, he instantly hid. They killed everything; he was only able to save a small portion of his serenity while keeping hidden.

"Kadir, still the coward I take it," a sly voice remarked, he spun around to see his brother running over the water to meet him.

"Hinto, this is my home, do not insult me here," he warned trying to put as much conviction as he could into his words, of the four, he was the weakest. He couldn't fight, he couldn't even defend himself, he could only heal and hide when things got too violent.

"Ha! This petty little bush is your home? You really are pitiful Kadir, I will never understand why Darke insists we keep you around," Hinto admitted twirling a piece of cerulean hair around his finger. Kadir glared at his brother, the other's blue tinged skin clashed oddly with the bright yellow pants he insisted on wearing. Cold azure orbs took everything in with a degrading air, as if nothing were good enough for him.

"Hinto, I warn you once more, do not insult me in my own home," Kadir repeated sending minute waves of eco to the great tree that Hinto stood under, the roots began to grow and take hold of his ankles.

"Why brother, you're actually standing up for yourself, I guess it took the death of the boy right under your nose to send you to this extreme," Hinto speculated breaking free of the roots. Kadir shrugged, it was not his place to protect the boy, he had never agreed or had any part in the treaty Light and Dark made at the beginning of a new planet.

"What do you want Hinto? I assume this is not a friendly visit," He said wearily sitting on the throne the plants had made for him. He played with his emerald locks nervously, this was bad, already he could feel the few remaining plants starting to die in other parts of the world.

"Got that right, Darke wants the two of us to steal something from the City in the Wastelands, a body I think," Hinto muttered dancing from foot to foot. The olive skinned being said nothing but gestured for the other to continue.

"I think he wants us to get the boy, Mar, and bring him to the Temple, no one can know, not even Zanthe and Akako," Hinto stressed pacing up and down, not from worry but because he had no choice.

"Did he give you a deadline?" Kadir asked scratching an ear absently, he constantly forgot when he was in human form or cat, he maintained the same habits for both.

"Yeah, by the next full moon, oh Light can't know about this, something about a new truce or something, I dunno, just be there next moon or we're both in deep shit," Hinto warned already racing away once more.

Kadir watched the trail of blue eco fade away and dissolved into the trees once more, he growled softly as another corpse of trees died in some far away place. Slowly, he froze until the only thing moving was his tail, he let the plants cover him so only his piercing jade green eyes were left. He glanced at the full moon over head, it was gradually getting larger and he was sure the mortals had not noticed a thing, but he had. He knew what it meant, it was being attracted to the rise in eco around the world, soon it would crash into the planet but not before the eco tore it apart. He let out a rasping snarl and rested his head on his forepaws, he had so hoped this would his home for a long time, but no such luck, oh well, time to move on.

* * *

**_Palace Ruins_**

The ruins of the old City had been left to rot in the shadow of the new Palace, no ne cared to venture through the broken down buildings. Metal Heads only inhabited a section of the ruins not all, never all, Mar's Tomb was one of those places.

A lone figure walked calmly through the ruble to the automatic doors; it waited patiently as the doors hissed open. It boarded the lift silently and ignored the albino lurkers that inhabited the waters; they stayed in the water as the figure passed. They did not try to attack even as the person climbed the stairs to the tomb, the figure crossed the broken bridge to the actual tomb, it had to see, to make sure.

The body had been encased in a coffin of eco lite, the rarest substance on their planet, never had it seen so much in one place. The lid slid off easily and inside lay the body of Mar, the savior of the planet and creator of Haven City, mere bones now. Clasped in the skeletal hands was a letter and a wilted violet, the letter was plucked out the grasp of the dead man. The figure stared at it hatefully for a few minutes, he knew every word in it, and then ripped it to shreds.

After the pieces of letter had been blown away by a current which had been provided by a vent used to keep the tomb from becoming too musty, the person departed. Back through the flooded room, up the elevator and into the harsh moonlight, the figure ran a hand through dirty blond locks. Sapphire blues scanned the scene before him, death and destruction, he sighed and walked away.

He left no footprints in the dust, cast no shadow and made no sound.

* * *

**DEF: God, this chapter was harder to write than any of the others, I hope you people are happy.**

_Vita: As always, read and review, also check out_**_ "Through The Eyes Of the Cursed'  
_**


	9. The End Is Near, so do we die or not?

**DEF: Wow, I just realised something, I've been writing this story over the span of three months or more, that is so weird!  
**

_Vita: Once again, we don't own Jak and Dax but we do own Iyar, Desdemona, Akako, Hinto, Kadir and Zanthe_

* * *

**_Jak_**

He never thought death would be like this, it was as though he were still alive, still weighted down by mortal wants and needs. He wasn't being tortured by little bastards with horns and pitchforks so it wasn't hell but there was also the lack of winged bitches playing the harp so it wasn't heaven.

He supposed it could be limbo, after all he had saved the world countless times but he had also killed more than he cared to remember. He wasn't completely good nor was he wholly bad so this was the purgatory he was condemned to, waiting for nothing but wanting everything.

The strangest thing about where he was had to be the fact that he was split in two but still one, his innocent self from Sand Over and the one created in the Baron's Prison. He could see through both of their eyes, see and hear what they saw and heard but he couldn't control himself. The younger Jak wandered Dead Town and Spargus, places he'd known as a child before all the pain and bloodlust. The older one lived mainly in the old Haven City from before the attack from the Metal Heads, it didn't venture into Spargus because as that time he hadn't known about it.

His younger self didn't see the places as they had become but rather as they had been in the past, when the Wasteland hadn't existed. The young Jak knew nothing of the Metal Heads or even of Gol and Maia, he lived in the years before Daxter had become an Ottsel. In those days the Sages had still kept in touch with each other and Samos would regularly take them on trips to visit the others. They other Sages had known nothing of the future, at least he never thought they did, they would teach him how to channel the different ecos. He was content to sleep in the fake uncle's hut in his old bed, to play in the water unknowing of the poison, of the death which surrounded him.

The Jak of Haven roamed the ruined sections of the City, he knew all too well of the City's fate and was aware of the destruction that surrounded him. The places he would visit most were those in which he'd lost control to his darker half and taken the lives of many. The rebel would frequent the old Hide Out, Mar's Tomb, the hut which once housed the Oracle, never stopping, always looking for something.

Still there were times when he was himself, not split between the past and the present but the body in which he was both Jak and Mar. In those times he could see the Wasteland and Spargus, on rare occasions could he see Haven and never did he see the forest where he had died. He paced in front of the scene before him, it was like looking through a mirror to tell the truth, he could see the world he'd left behind in it. Tonight it was showing him the Wasteland, the wind blew the sand gently creating new dunes, destroying the old, forever changing but other than the too large moon, all was normal. He leaned forward hungrily, he could almost reach through the glass to the desert but it held strong against his most violent attempts. He had to settle for these short glances, to see the places where he'd fought for so many lives, where his own body now lay six feet under the ground. He splayed a hand against the cold glass, then narrowed his eyes at the scene before him, something was crossing the desert with surprising speed, much like he had been able to while flying.

_Not much longer, be patient_

He spun around, there was nothing there but the stone room that was always there, it held a simple bed of rags and nothing more, it was ironically similar to his cell in prison. He turned his attention back to the mirror, the cloud of dust had settled to reveal a young man accompanied by a large green hunting cat. The man fidgeted stirring up more sand while the cat remained calm, they both radiated a power he hadn't felt in years, it was pure and untainted, he could sense that much through the mirror. He watched as the cat changed into a small child with intelligent jade green orbs but they seemed so old, no child ever held such pain in their eyes.

The man held a crystal in his hand but it was unlike any other he had seen, it was pulsing with suppressed power neither Dark nor Light. He longed to see what the strange pair intended but even as he stood there, his body was split once more into two. The mirror disappeared and he was in Dead Town and Sand Over all at once but his collective consciousness was still intact.

_You are not to witness._

* * *

**_Tess_**

The small Ottsel girl stared dejectedly on the cold stone of the training room, pieces of metal scattered around herm clips of ammo drained of their eco. She picked up a blue eco bullet, turning it over in her hands, it was completely dead, nothing left. Riots were breaking out daily, the City was dissolving into panic and there was nothing they could possibly do to save it. She'd closed the bar early and come to the weapons depot to clam her nerves by building a gun but then she found this.

All the weapons she'd worked so hard on, destroyed and laying pieces, of course she could always rebuild but what was the point anymore? The ammo had been drained of all their eco, there wasn't one bullet left untouched by whatever had done this.

She'd never felt this depressed, never, not even when her parents were killed by the Metal Heads during an attack and she lay bleeding in the debris. She'd been scared as hell but she hadn't given up, her leg had been broken in the fall from her second story bedroom but she was still alive. After what had seemed like hours upon hours of waiting slipping in and out of consciousness, she finally saw search lights.

The red haired man who'd found her had the tattoos of the KG Commander but he wasn't in his armor, that was dangerous, especially out here. It was only afterwards, when she was lying in a bunk bed in a small clustered chamber, did she learn that she'd been taken in by the notorious Underground movement. The red haired man had made it clear that she wasn't obligated to join their cause but she did anyway, she owed them her life and besides she didn't have anywhere else to go, her older sister had also died in the raid.

She'd spent a couple weeks in bed while her leg healed but she did her share of work, she improved the weapons they had, upgrading ammo capacity and rate of fire. She worked with their bombs expert and they were able to improve most everything in the Hide Out, albeit it was still pretty dismal but it was her home. Home was a loose term now, was it the place you were safest or the place where all your loved ones were? Was it the place where you felt right or the only place where someone would take you?

She clutched her head in confusion, she wanted to smash her head against the wall until he couldn't think anymore, until all these feelings died away. To stab herself and watch the blood soak into the carpet, let all the horrible thoughts flow out of her with the one thing that kept her alive. She wanted so badly to do those things that it was like a physical need, she felt as though if she didn't, she would die.

Where was the girl Torn had always argued with about her optimism? In a place like Haven it was better to assume the worst and be pleasantly surprised when those presumed dead came back. She had known it was stupid to think like that but she just couldn't help it, it was in her nature to hope for a better day.

But now, there was just no way things could get better, Jak was dead, the City was in an uproar and the planet was about to be destroyed for the second god damned time in her life! What was there to live for anymore, all the people she loved and cared about had changed, they had given up just like she had. It was strange that they lectured her none stop about her optimism but deep down they were even worse than her, they were survivors, they all were, the entire City was. They had fought seemingly endless wars, day after day, year after year and had still dared to hope for something more, something better. But not anymore, this time would be the last time, there was no way to turn back, no help coming. This was the pitch black night and there was never going to be a dawn, the sun had been swallowed whole by the darkness.

* * *

**_Onin_**

The old prophet sat in her tent once more, she was more than a century and a half old, she had seen so many die, her parents, her sisters, her son, each and everyone while she was left cruelly alive. It seemed as though the first few years had belonged to someone else, someone else's happiness, their life.

She had once been Alexandra, the prophet of Haven City, Sage of Blue Eco, Advisor to the King. She had been loved and respected by all and she couldn't have imagined a better place but she knew something would happen to change all that.

The Hora-Quan had not been as strong as they were in the future, back then they were still new to the world and the City, which had been much bigger in those days, lived peacefully. Their Leader was still unaccustomed to the climates and he could not get past the shield walls, even if he did, her fellow Sages would stop him and maybe even destroy him. Their King then, Levianth, constantly went on excursions outside the City walls despite her best attempts to keep him safe, he was young and foolhardy, deaf to words of reason. She could remember vividly that day, they had gone much, much further than normal, deep into the Mountain Temple and too far away from help.

Of course she had accompanied the King, she and her son, a sage-in-training, Nathaniel. They had stumbled upon an ancient Precursor rift rider, the very same she had seen many times in her visions of the past and the future. Levianth had wanted to take it home with them but she knew that it was impossible; the removal of such a large object would surely bring the Hora-Quan down en mass but Levianth would hear nothing of it. He hitched the rider to all three Leaper lizards and starting dragging it back to the City, Alexandra led the part while Nathaniel followed up the rear.

She would never know how the Hora-Quan snuck up on them so easily without being sensed by either Sage but they had and there was no stopping them. Levianth was torn to pieces immediately by two of the creatures and the pieces were dragged off into the dense jungle surrounding the Temple. Nathaniel had tried to fight, to give her some way to escape but he was, after all, only a child, the Hora-Quan Leader himself infected his blood and killed him. She had tried to draw the poison out but it was too late, he was already gone, by that time the Leader had discovered the rider and was most interested on its last rider.

She could still recall the deep reverberating growl as the Hora-Quan Leader realized who she was, even among monsters she was famous for her powers. He had tried to buy her loyalties by promising large amounts of eco but she hadn't cared for anything he could offer her. When she hadn't bowed to his demands he spat poison into her eyes, forever blinding her, he grabbed her by the neck crushing her throat and taking away her ability to speak her prophecies. The rest had laughed as she sent out a silent prayer for her soul, but wonder of wonders, it had been answered, a new blue eco vent burst forth and she'd been able to tap into its raw power. She had used her eco to stun them all and escaped into the forest, it had taken many days before she was finally able to find her way back to the City and by then she had been given up for lost. No one had recognized her, gone was her long black hair and keen blue gaze, her voice was gone and she was covered in mud, she was no longer Alexandra.

She had bought a small apartment in the poorer section of the City long ago and there was where she retreated to as her wounds healed and she recovered from her time outside the City. It was many years before she found Pecker just outside the City walls, almost dead of dehydration, she had taken him in and in return he became her voice. It had been a far cry from her previous life as a Sage but many visited her stall to have their fortunes told and they made a decent living. Her old name had been cast off like an old skin and she took the name of Onin, it had once belonged to her great grandmother, the only other prophet in her family and it suited her well.

"Awrk, are you okay? You haven't spoken for almost two days," Pecker squawked landing on her hat and drawing her out of the past. She shook her head, not sure what to tell him, she knew he was waiting for news on the eco beings but she couldn't see them anymore, they had disappeared completely.

"Oh, I see, well, I'll tell Samos," he murmured, he clearly understood her simplest motions, she sometimes wondered whether or not the monkaw could read her mind, it certainly felt that way at times. She continued to stare at the tent wall, she might not be able to see but she knew her own home well enough to know what the hell she watching, she was also still enough of a Sage to know two different forms of eco had recently been used there. One she knew immediately, Darke Eco with its infection, thankfully it hadn't spread to any of the artifacts, they would've been destroyed completely if it had. The other was more subtle, it was like a soft heat against her palms, were she a normal person she would mistake it for the embers in the fire pit, Red Eco.

She had scanned the time period during which she'd been away but it was blurred and blocked from her, lately a lot of her visions had become indistinct, it could only mean a powerful force was disrupting her sight. She could only hope that whatever was blocking her was working to save the planet, the time line was still incomplete, Jak still had to go back in time as Mar and build the City and the gun. If the timeline was allowed to remain incomplete, the very fabric of their universe could be disrupted and everything that was yet to come would disappear into nothingness.

As a prophet, she had always known what was coming before it actually hit but this time she was in the dark just like everyone else, it wasn't a feeling she enjoyed and she would be glad when this whole ordeal was over and done with. Still, for the first time in her life she felt like a normal person, so strange for it to come so late in her lifetime but at least it had come. That was all she could ever ask for, that was all anyone could ever ask for, acceptance.

* * *

**_The Monk Temple_**

The glowing orb rose as he made his way to the top of the temple, how long had it been since this insane truce had been struck? Four months, five? Anyway, it didn't matter, Iyar often took him for granted, after all, he was the living embodiment of death and bloodshed.

Still, to think he would let the whole universe fall into ruin simply because he wanted to have some fun was foolish, he knew very well what would happen if he allowed the timeline to remain incomplete. He licked his claws absently, he never sought sleep nor would he ever need sustenance but the metallic slightly coppery taste of blood had grown on him over the years. It was a pleasant feeling knowing he was basically tasting their lives, sadistic, why not? He didn't really care what Iyar said, he would do as he pleased so long as he was able.

His brother often liked to play the 'high and mighty' role but even he did not always know the whole truth, well neither did he but he almost always knew more than his brother. He wasn't afraid to take control of the that pitiful prophet and search the past and future for information, it wasn't technically a breaking of the laws but it was a given that you didn't interfere with the lives of mortals. Their hosts were an entirely different matter, those were chosen by the Precursors and tested for their worth. Of course Iyar had the same power, he just chose not to use them to his advantage, he preferred to rely on the Precursors and the path would reveal itself in time and yes that was a direct quote.

While Iyar talked with the stars and such, he was left to do the real dirty work of creating chaos and stealing bits and pieces of mortal lives. When put that way, he sounded almost decent, that was completely the opposite, the only reason it had taken him this long to fix this whole mess was because he was having too much fun fucking with the mortals.

They made it too easy, really, they were so eager to believe the worst of their friends, rebel against their superiors, overthrow their rulers; it was simply a process of picking out the weakest ones and instilling a few ideas. Take the last Baron for example; he had once been a dedicated second in command, loving husband and wonderful father, had that changed soon enough. A run out into the Pumping Station, a Metal Head taking his eye and he was convinced his King had sent him on a suicide mission. Over the next few weeks all it took was a stream of prompts, reminding him of his hatred for the King and the Metal Head scourge. Mortals disgusted him to the extreme, they were such fickle creatures, thankfulness was forgotten in exchange for angst and malice, they were forever changing sides and making worse and worse choices.

As blood thirsty as he was, as vengeful, he always knew his purpose in life and just then the primal instinct of survival was front in center. In most aspects, he was an animal, a victim of whims and fancies, as fickle as the mortals he so hated but his fancies always revolved around the same thing, always. Never would he stray from his path, not even when bound to a host was he so corrupted did he forget who he was.

He sighed, cracking his neck impatiently, he could feel the earth cry out as it was ripped open so far away in the City. He could almost taste the taint of his former host, three years was too long a time to have his essence bound to your soul, it had left a dark stain on the boy. More than often, that taint would kill a host within weeks but this one was strong, he would be able to live with it for years upon years, not to mention able to resist the strain of time travel. He never had nor would he ever care for the little shit but he had to admit, even to just himself, that the boy was strong. After all, you have to be strong to have your soul continually ripped in two and pull it back together, even if was for a few seconds.

On of the things he knew that Iyar didn't, was the fact that the boy's soul wasn't only in his domain, it was split into two halves. One was the pure child who had grown up in the past and that was the place he chose to haunt, that was the half he owned. The other was the man who had been created in the Baron's prison cell, he haunted the ruined sections of the City, completely driven by hate, Iyar owned that half. Still there was the soul in its entirety, it was trapped in a limbo of its own devising, it could change the form of the limbo but it was too tortured to understand how. When the two halves were called together, it could view events in the real world but those instances were rare, the rest of the time the two halves tried to stay apart.

It would be a simple matter of catching the halves joined and having the soul return to the body, to tell the truth, the soul was owned by neither he nor his brother. The brat had somehow managed to remain in a perfect balance, he wasn't damned, he wasn't a saint, he was just there, like a tree or something.

Tonight would be the last chance he would have to reunite the body and the soul, after the moon set the world's eco would tip to much to one side and that eco would rip it apart. His eco, the poison would kill the cure, his brother's eco, no cure to a poison and you're all screwed wasn't that right Samos? He leaned back on his palms, face to the sky, already he could feel the little zings of power and for once he wished it would stop.

Tonight he would try for the impossible while his holier-than-thou prick of a brother would pray to the Precursors and bless every soul he could find. The ocean was restless, he could feel it, it was almost as though a pet were rubbing against his legs and pulling at his pants. He told it to calm down, there wasn't anything he could do until Kadir and Hinto got there with the body, strange how it was his brother's children he called on for help and not his own. In all likeliness, Akako would bitch about it and Zanthe wouldn't understand what they were doing, she would probably forget about it then play tag with her shadow. Nah, it was best to have the saner members of his family do this, he knew if he went for the body, he wouldn't make it back here in time, he would be too distracted by the power flux.

Tonight would either spell the end or save them all, and who would be the only person able to help them? The one and only monster who would kill them all without a second thought, oh the sweet, sweet irony. He let out a rasping laugh, closer to a growl than anything else but still distinguishable as laughter, how much more fucked up could this world get?

* * *

**DEF: Getting close to the end here, thanks so much for all my loving reviewers!**

_Vita: You guys practically wrote this story and gave it a life, so congrats to you!_**  
**


	10. Well look who saved your sorry asses

**DEF: *Sniff* This is the last chapter to this story, I can't believe how long and how much I've written I hope you guys like it.**

_Vita: We don't own Jak or Dax, but we sure as hell own this story!__ So steal anything from it without our permission and you dead._

* * *

**_Monk Temple_**

Why had she returned to the temple in the first place? She should have just stayed in Haven and had her last rites, after all they were all dead. It had been almost two months since she'd seen the two beings dancing on the dark waters.

Two months since she'd broken one of her oaths by touching alcohol, she was no better than some guard, a monk was meant to be more than this. Still, had any other monk faced what she had and remained with their sanity intact? One of her few friends was the legendary time walker and his death had set in motion events none could prevent, the destruction of the planet. Seem was not a vindictive person, she had been taught better than that, yet, even she couldn't justify the choices made by the City of her birth, their Baron had tainted the one who held the pure light, that alone was a foolish decision.

Had he remained whole and intact, he could have taken the throne of Haven as he was meant to and brought Haven back to the paradise it had once been. Instead he was too full of hate towards the City and all who lived there to ever want to repair it, he wanted it to be as broken as he was.

She wasn't quite sure what had brought her back to the deserted temple, it seemed as though it was indeed destined to become her tomb. She could feel a dark power pulsing through the hallowed halls, much like it had been when overrun by the Dark Makers. However much she had hated the Dark Makers, she could not help but pity them as well. Yes they had experimented with Dark Eco and brought about their own destruction but still, no creature should have to endure such an existence.

_'Now I remember why I hate you monks so much, so damn pious and holy. I swear someday, I'll get rid of all you religious bastards.'_

The voice echoed but not through the tunnel walls, they echoed through her skull, the deep snarl was presented at a volume that hurt her oversensitive hearing. She could feel the pull of something ancient and lethal as she ran up the hidden staircase, there was only one place anyone could hide in the temple anymore. The launching pad for the gliders, so high above, accessible by only a narrow staircase, it alone had remained untouched by the darkness that had invaded.

"God, I forgot just how stupid you little shits are. Aren't monks trained to pick up on eco imbalances?"

This voice was melodious but there was an underlying violence in the words, as though the speaker was fighting against something, it was the exact same way Jak had spoken. She slammed into a wall of dark eco at the top of the stairs, it was all she could do to stop from falling back down them and breaking her neck.

"Don't die on me now, I still need you otherwise you'd be long gone," the person growled turning in a cloak of darkness to face her.

"You're the one who dances on water, an eco being," she whispered as the full moon penetrated the darkness to reveal the very same girl she'd seen. The hair was the same, wild with its ever changing colour; the tall willowy frame was pale with a pallor that could rival a corpse. The eyes were made of stygian shadows, a violet lightening played scenes of death and decay in their depths. The girl had changed in other respects as well; short horns grew from her temples, foot long claws and inch long fangs were stained with crimson of a fresh kill.

"None are allowed to view the, our little get togethers," the girl hissed tracing the tattoos on her face with a black eco lite claw.

"But, like I said, I need you, for the time being at least, so I can't kill you, yet," the girl muttered pacing up and down the small launch pad like a trapped animal. The wall of dark eco slowly dissolved and she was able to brace herself against a pillar, she didn't like heights at all, especially when she was trapped with a dark eco creature.

"Tell me, why am I required? Surely a being such as yourself need not require the help of mortals," she murmured shivering as the potency of the eco invaded her senses. The smell was cloyingly sweet, almost suffocating, the darkness surrounded her like a thick smoke leaving her eyes useless. Standing in the dark fog, she swore she could hear voices whispering in a strange tongue, almost as though they were screaming for help.

"True, but right now you're one of the safest things in this world, count yourself lucky and stop asking questions," the woman spat staring out over the sand.

"It's a shame really, none of you will even remember what happened," she sighed cupping light eco in her hands but something was wrong with the image. The light eco was hissing, she could see it trying to get away from the woman but she held it tightly.

"Do you know the story of the great savior Mar? Do you know just how he created the City and the security walls?" the woman asked fixing her with cold black eyes.

"He used this, were he to use mine he would probably still be alive but no, the stubborn fool insisted on Light eco and paid with his life for his mistake," the woman laughed, a deep malicious laughter that made her blood run cold.

"Will you make his mistake Monk or will you be smart and use what you know of it to you advantage?" the woman murmured.

* * *

**_Spargus_**

He let out a low rasp, his fur felt on end as though he had picked up and electric charge, the full moon up above was much too close, they had to work fast their were only four hours left until dawn. The grave site was already smooth; the only indication of its presence was the white marble tombstone.

"Hurry up Hinto, something is watching," he growled switching to his younger form, how ironic that as one of the eldest beings in their family he was a small child.

"Quiet Kadir, the eco isn't responding as it should," his brother replied, he could hear the strain in the bluenette's voice and crouched down with the crystal clasped tightly. He could sense that something mortal was observing them but he had no clue as to what, all the people of Spargus were hidden inside their palace and there wasn't anything else out there with them.

Darke was far away in the Monk Temple and Light was somewhere in Haven among the ruins, Akako had her own problems to take care of with her volcanoes acting up. The only one they would have to watch out for would be Zanthe, ever since the boy had died Zanthe was different, she was no longer the innocent child they knew, she was colder, more distant.

"Kadir, help me," Hinto hissed, the body had been dressed in a black suit but was encased by a layer of shadow; he hurriedly formed a mat of vines.

"My eco's unstable, I can barely control it and it's getting weaker," Hinto gasped letting the blue hue die away, he could see sweat beaded on his brother's brow.

"We must get him to Dark before your eco dies," he warned turning back to a cat, the vines obligingly lifted the body onto his back and secured it tightly, he held the crystal in his mouth.

"I don't think I can move, you go, need to rest," the other gasped collapsing, already he could feel the world's supply of blue eco draining away like sand in an hourglass while the bottom was being filled with his own eco.

He felt much more powerful than he had in eons; mortals were forever destroying his ancient homes, cutting down the trees and killing the wild life. He was tempted to have his plants take back the City, Spargus; it had not always been the desert fortress it was now, once it had been his home, his real home. Spargus, the City on the water's edge, the place he had touched down when they had come to this planet, his true place of power, not that pitiful hole in Haven.

"Kadir! I know what you're thinking brother, don't let the power go to your head, if you don't go now you won't even have what you had anymore," Hinto growled pushing his towards the water. He let out a shaky breath, he had almost been consumed, become a power hungry monster, maybe there was a reason he was always the weakest of the six, he was the most dangerous, he could make it so that nothing lived, ever.

"Yes, I mean you're right, I must go," he mumbled lifting the body onto his back, he was a cat once more, it felt cowardly to leave his brother but the only way to save him would be to go. He took off on the thin strip between the hard packed sand and dark inky expanse of the ocean, like the line between life and death, it was the only hidden place. If he went over land, Zanthe or Akako would sense him, if he went over the water, Darke would sense him and most likely come running, not what they wanted. The ocean belonged to the Devil and he alone, it wouldn't matter that he was on his orders, the Devil rarely waited for explanations.

He could feel the power as he ran, it was begging to be released, to be utilized to its fullest but he could not allow that, no matter how much he wanted to. If he gave in even the slightest movement in its favor, he would be consumed by it and more than likely die.

"Kadir!" He halted but kept on running, only a while more now, he could not allow himself to be caught so close to his goal, not again.

"Protector of Life! Kadir, my brother!" the voice was cold, like a glacial wind and twice as piercing, it could only be Zanthe, their dearly beloved little sister had turned into something monstrous.

"Child of Morn, Zanthe my sister!" he called leaping from the shoreline to the first of the small chain of islands that led to his destination. He could feel her behind him; it was only his feline form that had kept him ahead of her for so long, after Hinto, Zanthe was the quickest of the new beings.

"Where go you on this night of death?" She asked making a grab for his tail but he was already jumping as she landed and managed to slip out of her reach by a hairsbreadth. She was freezing cold, that was not how it should be, Zanthe and Akako were beings of perpetual warmth, none could touch their eco without burning up.

"I venture to the temple of our creators to meet our brother of darkness," he replied twisting in the middle of the spring so that he landed on a rock spire, it was enough to confuse her for a second and cause her to stop. He jumped up, his claws found purchase on the volcanic rock and he ran up the near vertical surface, already he could taste the dark eco on his tongue. In one more frenzied leap he had cleared the rock and landed delicately on the glider platform, he let off his burden and placed the crystal at his brother's feet.

"You did well Kadir, now go from here, you must be well away before I start otherwise you may be corrupted," Darke warned taking the crystal into his hands.

"Brothers, isn't this a lovely surprise, I saw the chase from my volcano," Akako sneered appearing on the platform with Zanthe.

"Akako, Zanthe, you have no business here this night, leave," Darke ordered, a dangerous light flashing in the bottomless pits of his eyes.

"No Darke, you no longer control us," Zanthe growled a glow like that of the sun enveloped her form, giving her a strange, deadly beauty.

* * *

"You have ten seconds to get your asses out of here before I make you leave," Darke threatened, the form of the mortal woman melting away to that of his true appearance. Curling horns of onyx, claws of eco lite covered in a dark crimson stain, pale bleached skin of a corpse, fangs dripping with blood and eyes of stygian darkness.

He inhaled deeply, he could taste death on his tongue, the screaming of so many souls even if their conscious minds didn't register it. The girls standing before him were both deadly yet heartbreakingly gorgeous, his twins, The Morning Child and the Daughter of Flames. He would never claim any love for them but he valued their power as his children, after all he didn't, it would be like insulting his own power.

"No 'brother'," Zanthe sneered, lips pulling back from her teeth in a feral snarl, he had always underestimated her but now he knew what she was, he would never again take her for the innocent he once had.

"You forget your place Zanthe, I am the only one who can save this world, you would do well to leave me to it, only Light and myself are able to leave a planet, you and your sister do not possess that power," he laughed.

"Die or live under your thumb, such a hard decision brother," Akako mused cupping molten rock in her hands, the volcano was active once more after eons of sleep.

"Then let me make it for you, you stuck up bitch, get the fuck out or die," he barked, already his eco was starting to rise to the surface of the planet, feeding him power.

"You cannot kill us Darke, it would offset the balance, you would be forced to sacrifice more than half your power to right it," Zanthe replied viciously.

"Hmm, interesting statement, fine you do not wish death, I will give you the only other option available to you, pain," he hissed, then quicker than thought he grabbed each by the throat. Zanthe kicked and screamed insults at him, pulling her eco to her but it wasn't anywhere near powerful enough to free her. Akako called on her own eco but it was slow in coming, when it finally did, it was a blistering heat akin to those of hellfire but still not enough to subdue him. There had been many planets of the past that had met a fiery demise, he and his brother, always the last to leave, had experienced the last licks of the dying sun before taking up a new home and host.

He knew that holding them alone would not prevent them from interfering during the restriction so he did the one thing he had not done in millennia. He called to his brother's eco, one would think it would be impossible but it responded happily to his summons. He had it form a thin sheet of light and cover the sisters, immediately they fell unconscious, trapped by the purity they knew nothing of. The Daughter of Fire and Child Of Morn were born of darkness, they shied away from the light, existed in the shadows and that was what made them different.

Were it not for the light, he would not be but were it not for him the light would loose its purpose, for who would have need of the light if there was no darkness to chase away. He was the poison lurking in the depths of the heart, the whispers of betrayal that played in the ears of the wronged. He was the balance to the light that shone like a beacon to those wronged, the light that showed them the way to freedom and a better life, they **_needed_** each other if either were to mean anything.

He left the twins to their prison and turned to the monk woman, she had a dazed look in her eye and was pressed against a pillar. He could taste her fear on his tongue, slightly tangy with just a hint of metallic copper, he had tasted it thousands of times yet every time it was as though it was new to him.

"I won't kill you monk, yet at least, you still have your purpose," he rasped picking up the crystal, it was transparent and pulsed with untapped power. It was one of the ancient crystals that had come with them from the last planet, it was denser than the crystals of this world and was the only one of its kind, neither dark nor light but a conduit for power.

"I cannot force this mortal back into the world, only one who is truly of it can do this," he explained solemnly holding the cold stone out to her.

"But how am I to do this? I may be a monk but I have no knowledge of this type of crystal," she complained almost dropping it when the temperature registered with her system.

"Whatever eco you call upon with answer you but you can only use it once, after that it will shatter so choose wisely," he muttered, he hoped to hell he was right in picking this little chit.

* * *

She weighed the stone in her hands, it was so cold, like dipping your hands in a bowl of super cooled blue eco. She breathed deeply and knelt next to the body, it was encased by a film of shadow not unlike the one covering the two women at the edge of the platform.

She glanced up at the dark creator leaning against the pillar, which eco should she call upon? Green would heal but it was slow, blue was quick but held no healing properties, yellow was the same, red had power but like green it was sluggish. The best choice would be light of course but she knew how Light eco reacted to Dark, it refused to touch it and the two would repel each other.

Dare she use Dark? It was the only thing that could penetrate the shadows and its rate of healing was incredible but she was not immune to its effects, it would kill her. She hesitated then decided in a split second, how could she be so selfish?

Jak had risked his life over and over again for this planet and now she was willing to let it all fall to ruin because she was scared? She grit her teeth and called out to the darkness that surrounded her, it responded like an eager puppy and channeled itself into the crystal. She expected black but instead found white, a cool brightness that enveloped her like a warm blanket, it reminded her of her mother and the stories of Mar before bed. She sighed and slipped away, back to a simpler time.

* * *

The world turned upside down as he fell, it was like that story he had once heard of a girl named Alice falling down a rabbit hole, was this what it felt like he wondered. When he could stand again, he found himself standing on the glider platform atop the Monk Temple but he wasn't alone by a long shot.

Two women, one with dirty blond hair and the other fiery red locks, were enveloped by a dazzling white while another was slumped over a body coated in shadow. Standing by a pillar was a familiar sight, his darker half, the demon that had haunted him for the last three, nearly four years of his life making it a hell on earth.

**"Huh, it actually worked,"**his demon mused inspecting him, he looked around at the moon, it was unnaturally huge and he could feel the pull of too many different ecos, if he had a real body, he would have a head ache.

**"As I told the Monk, I cannot make you return to the world, only you can make that choice. I suggest you choose wisely because if you don't come back you can kiss this sorry ass place good bye,"**the demon informed him smiling maliciously.

_"And what happens if I do?"_ he asked but his voice resembled the wind over the desert sands more than talking, and he couldn't feel his body.

**"You go back to the way things were before, all memory of your death will be wiped from existence and instead of dying that day in the forest, you will have lived,"**the devil explained laughing slightly.

_"Will I remember what happened?"_ he questioned, all those months of being split, the agony of being two while one, would he forget it all?

**"That depends, do you wish it, do you really want to go back to the rat shit existence you lived before?"**the demon stated in a quiet voice, for once it was taking him seriously.

_"I don't want to go back to the other one, so yes, I want to go back without any memory, wipe it all," _he murmured realizing for the first time that the woman was Seem and the body was his.

**"If that is what you want, then I can't say no and don't go all suicidal and get yourself killed again, it would be a huge pain in the ass to do this all over again,"** the demon grumbled as everything faded away.

* * *

**"Light,"** the Devil greeted acknowledging the being that dropped from the heavens next to him.

_"Darke,"_ the Angel replied curtly folding its iridescent wings close, they both stood motionless as the new full moon rose above the tranquil waters.

_"I see you accomplished terms of the truce and none are the wiser to the disappearances, I suppose I owe you a thank you," _the Angel muttered turning slightly to face the Devil.

**"Whatever you say Light, I just didn't want to wait another ten millennia for new play things,"** the Devil assured him spinning a ball of dark light inits hands.

_"Be that as it may, you did well in choosing the Monk, any other would have taken what is mine and destroyed this world,"_ the Angel murmured contemplatively.

**"Light, I don't give a fuck, all I want to for this to be done with so I can go hunting,"** the Devil snarled tossing the electric ball over to the Angel and having it blow up in its face.

_"As you wish brother,"_ the Angel sighed unfolding its wings and taking to the skies once more, it was well away by the time the Devil saw fit to speak.

**"With the land, sea and sky as my witness,** **in this I seal my life's blood, my very essence. Lest this disaster rear its head once more, I will not lift a finger to help these bastards."**

* * *

**DEF: Wow I feel so empty but so happy all at the same time!  
**

_Vita: Review, flamers very welcome, they give us laughs!_


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